SB Nation - Danario Alexander

Mizzou Links, 12-18-09

Bill C. — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:53:23 -0000

Mizzou Football Links

The Trib: Navy present unique battle
PressBoxOnline: Unflinching Midshipmen Face One More Obstacle
The Annapolis Capital: Navy circles wagons for big Texas test
(If nothing else, read this article for it's hilarious description of Danario Alexander as a 6'4, 230-pound sophomore...clearly mistaking Alexander for Wes Kemp.)
Sporting News (STATS): Navy-Missouri Preview
Rivals.com: 2009 All-Big 12 freshman team
PowerMizzou: Recruiting Mailbag
PowerMizzou: Different paths, same destination (James Franklin & Tyler Gabbert)
"As a quarterback, it helps to know what it's like as a running back, wide receiver, even as a lineman," Young said. "[Franklin] never played line, but as a tight end, he was able to see what they do, blocking wise. What might be more important was James' time on defense, when he played linebacker and defensive back. He knows the fundamentals of those positions. He knows what to look for."

That's the main difference between Gabbert and Franklin. While Franklin dabbled in other positions, quarterback runs through Gabbert's veins. Since he started football, Gabbert has been the signal caller, following in big brother Blaine's footsteps. When Blaine began to work with renowned quarterback guru Skip Stitzell as a junior in high school, Tyler joined as well.

"He had a lot of natural ability," Stitzell said of Tyler, "what I call a very good foundation. He had a good idea of how to do things. We worked on taking all the mechanics he had, refining them, and introducing some new ones that maybe he didn't have."
PowerMizzou: Freshman video report: Donovan Bonner

Big 12 Football Links

KC Star (Campus Corner): Big 12 Below .500 in Bowls
San Antonio Express-News: Audit says A&M has problems
Crimson and Cream Machine: Offensive Line Could Determine Murray's Return

Big Ten Talk

Rush the Court (seriously, a wonderful blog...I've been linking to them about six times a week lately): A Closer Look at Big Ten Expansion -- here's a blurb, but read the whole thing

Missouri
For: Solid programs in both football and basketball, large stadiums with big budgets, and a decent size school/city.

Against: No real relationship with any of the Big Ten schools and a question of what will happen with their rivalries with Big 12 schools (Kansas? Nebraska?)

Verdict: Our most likely choice. The Tigers seem like the perfect fit with the exception of the rivalry issue. I think they can get around it in basketball, but football will be tough with its smaller schedule.
The Trib (Dave Matter): Four and Out: What else? Big Ten talk
[B]efore anyone starts making 2013 travel plans for Columbus, Madison and Ann Arbor, let’s not lose sight of 1993, 1998 and 2003. In each of those years, the Big Ten explored expansion and said no thanks. The league has gone down this road before and come home content with its party of 11 … though this time the path is paved in flashier gold, in the form of Big Ten championship game ticket sales and untapped TV markets.
The Trib (Steve Walentik): Changing conferences would have drawbacks

There are also downsides. A big one, I believe, has to do with Missouri's ability to recruit football players from the state of Texas if the Tigers aren't in the Big 12, which is clearly the most visible league in the Lone Star State. Now, this more my colleague Dave Matter's area of expertise, but I do think it's silly to quickly dismiss this premise.

I see at least two other significant drawbacks closer to the team I cover. The biggest has to do with the Missouri-Kansas rivalry, which would be dramatically altered by a move to the Big Ten. Sure, the Tigers and Jayhawks could schedule a Braggin' Rights-type game to be played on a neutral court over the holidays, but it would have no where near the same meaning as a home-and-home series with a conference title on the line. I can't imagine Missouri fans not missing the chance to see their team get Kansas in its own backyard, a scenario that has produced some of the most memorable victories in school history. The other thing I see affected by a move to the Big Ten is the conference tournament. Now, Missouri gets a bit of an advantage getting to play it two hours from campus in Kansas City. I don't think the Tigers could expect the same in the Big Ten, where Chicago and Indianapolis will also be more natural destinations for the league tournament.
Chicago Tribune: How about Big 14?
Post-Dispatch: Would move to Big Ten be good for Mizzou?
Topeka Capital-Journal: Call border patrol on Big 10 raiders

Mizzou Basketball Links

The Missourian: Missouri players enjoy Hickman-Rock Bridge rivalry
PowerMizzou: J.T. Tiller suspended for Tigers' next game
The Missourian: Face of Missouri men's basketball suspended one game
The Missourian: Missouri men juggle finals and practices

Other

StateCollege.com: There is no 'A' in BCS (by Jay Paterno)

I am proposing a solution, a new way to determine who plays for the national title. It is an idea that would alter the BCS ranking formula and also allow the reformers at the NCAA to take a big step forward.

With the selection of a new NCAA president on the horizon, the new leadership could take up a new cause.

The new BCS ratings would include a third component to rank the teams. While computer polls and human polls make up the current rankings, my new BCS poll would utilize those rankings as 2/3 of the equation while adding the graduation rates of the top 25 BCS schools into the formula to come up with a complete ranking.
San Diego Union-Tribune (via @dmatter), Costly kick in the teeth to bowl teams
SI.com: Tim Tebow, USC Trojans dominate college football decade

And of course...

We're All Americans, But We're Not All All-Americans

Oops Pow Surprise — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:51:28 -0000

by Charlie Neibergall - AP

Iowa's Pat Angerer (43) celebrates with teammates Allen Reisner and Dace Richardson, right, after Iowa blocked a Northern Iowa field goal on the final play. Iowa won 17-16. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

View full size photo »

As is usually the case after a 10-win season, the accolades are beginning to pour in for the Iowa Hawkeye football team. Everyone and their mom has an all-conference or All-American team, but the two that actually matter--Walter Camp and the AP--are now out. And for the 33th year in a row, the unanimous selection for player of the year is Frank Stallone*.

More importantly, the AP named three Hawkeyes to their All-American teams. While nobody made it onto the first team, thanks to Ricky Stanzi's ankle injury--come on, you know if he stays healthy and Iowa goes 11-1 and finishes at #5 or so, even the guys on defense get a little bit more of a bump--both Bryan Bulaga and Pat Angerer made it to the second team, while Tyler Sash made third-team AA as a sophomore. A fine moment for all three players (two of whom, as we insular and provincial types are quick to point out, are native Iowans).

Meanwhile, the Walter Camp Foundation agreed with the AP, naming Bulaga and Angerer to their second team as well and effectively establishing the two as the de facto MVPs of their respective sides of the ball. We have a little beef with each designation, but for wholly different reasons.

First, though Bulaga is by far the best pro prospect on the line as of right now and was utterly dominant in 2008, the reality is that even notwithstanding the 3-week absence as he recovered from thyroid issues, he struggled in 2009. Brandon Graham and O'Brien Schofield manhandled Bulaga. And while those are two very good defensive ends, so was Aaron Maybin, the 11th pick of the 2009 by the Buffalo Bills and Bryan Bulaga's personal prison bitch after Iowa-PSU 2008. There was a substantial dropoff in play by Bulaga in 2009, and voters just didn't notice it when it came time to hand out awards.

Meanwhile, Dace Richardson was actually very good in his return to the line, and he got a fair amount of media attention when mid-season awards were being handed out. Then his ankle was rolled up on against Michigan State, and he disappeared from both the depth chart and voters' attention. But why should he have been punished for an ankle injury while voters looked past Bulaga's absence of a similar length? It's all past reputation, and that's not really fair to guys who come from nowhere and work their butts off--especially in their senior year, where there's no chance for any payoff in the "rewarded in Year X for play in Year X-minus-1" system that's come to be when it comes to honoring offensive linemen.

What this comes down to is that if the AP were to select an Iowa lineman for All-American this season, we'd have preferred it be Dace--though we'll certainly "settle for" Bulaga instead. If both men are playing their last game for Iowa next month, as lots of speculation suggests, then they've both had stellar careers in the black and gold and we wish them well.

On defense, on the other hand, Pat Angerer didn't really establish himself as the most dominant player for that Iowa defense, but that's hardly through any fault of his own. After all, one usually does so by being simply better than his teammates, and the talent level on the Iowa defense this year was both so high and so consistent that it was hard to see Angerer as someone who was the best player on defense. After all, you could always come back with, "well why not Sash? Or Adrian Clayborn? Or Amari Spievey? Or A.J. Edds? Or, hell, Jeremiha Hunter?" We're not saying that Angerer was the 6th best player on the Iowa defense by any means--just that ranking the top 5 or 6 or so would be impossible, because the gaps would be so miniscule that personal preference could easily mean a 3- or 4-spot swing here or there and it wouldn't even be objectionable.

Angerer's accolades, then, come from two areas: 1) his name, which is everything you could ever hope for times infinity; 2) and his stats, which sort of sneak up on you for the same reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph. As mentioned before, he was 5th in the nation in tackles at 11.3 a game. That's pretty outstanding, especially since--as TRE noticed during the season--Angerer's real strength might have been in pass coverage, not run support.

Still, absent game-changing plays, it's somewhat difficult to notice the overall impact a player has on a game. And all of those game-changing plays seemed to happen to other players--most notably Sash and Clayborn, and to a lesser extent Spievey.

Thus we have a weird ambiguity about how we look at Angerer's standing as the most highly-lauded member of the 2009 Iowa defense. It's not that he didn't deserve it--far from it--but with a defense like Iowa's, you could basically pick a name out of a hat and feel relatively confident that you made a good choice. It was that kind of year. Effectively singling out Angerer for praise, then, seems unusual and almost a little unfair. Oh well. There are worse problems to have.

Full AP All-American teams are after the break.

First team
Offense
	   Quarterback -- Colt McCoy, senior, 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Texas.
	   Running backs -- Toby Gerhart, senior, 6-1, 235, Stanford; Mark Ingram, sophomore, 5-10, 212, Alabama.
	   Tackles -- Russell Okung, senior, 6-5, 301, Oklahoma State; Trent Williams, senior, 6-5, 318, Oklahoma.
	   Guards -- Michael Johnson, senior, 6-6, 305, Alabama; Mike Iupati, senior, 6-6, 330, Idaho.
	   Center -- J.D. Walton, senior, 6-3, 305, Baylor.
	   Tight end -- Aaron Hernandez, junior, 6-2, 250, Florida.
	   Wide receivers -- Golden Tate, junior, 5-11, 195, Notre Dame; Jordan Shipley, senior, 6-0, 190, Texas.
	   All-purpose player -- C.J. Spiller, senior, 5-11, 195, Clemson.
	   Kicker -- Leigh Tiffin, senior, 6-2, 212, Alabama.
Defense
	   Ends -- Jerry Hughes, senior, 6-3, 257, TCU; Derrick Morgan, junior, 6-4, 272, Georgia Tech.
	   Tackles -- Ndamukong Suh, senior, 6-4, 300, Nebraska; Terrence Cody, senior, 6-5, 365, Alabama.
	   Linebackers -- Rolando McClain, junior, 6-4, 258, Alabama; Greg Jones, junior, 6-1, 228, Michigan State; Eric Norwood, senior, 6-1, 252, South Carolina.
	   Cornerbacks -- Joe Haden, junior, 5-11, 190, Florida; Javier Arenas, senior, 5-9, 198, Alabama.
	   Safeties -- Eric Berry, junior, 5-11, 203, Tennessee; Earl Thomas, sophomore, 5-10, 197, Texas.
	   Punter -- Drew Butler, sophomore, 6-2, 201, Georgia.
Second team
	   Quarterback -- Tim Tebow, senior, Florida.
	   Running backs -- Ryan Mathews, junior, Fresno State; Dion Lewis, freshman, Pittsburgh.
	   Tackles -- Bryan Bulaga, junior, Iowa; Chris Marinelli, senior, Stanford.
	   Guards -- Rodney Hudson, junior, Florida State; Mike Pouncey, junior, Florida.
	   Center -- Maurkice Pouncey, junior, Florida.
	   Tight end -- Dennis Pitta, senior, BYU.
	   Wide receivers -- Mardy Gilyard, senior, Cincinnati; Danario Alexander, senior, Missouri.
	   All-purpose player -- James Rodgers, junior, Oregon State.
	   Kicker -- Kai Forbath, junior, UCLA.
Defense
	   Ends -- Von Miller, junior, Texas A&M; Brandon Graham, senior, Michigan.
	   Tackles -- Gerald McCoy, junior, Oklahoma; Jared Odrick, senior, Penn State.
	   Linebackers -- Pat Angerer, senior, Iowa; Brandon Spikes, senior, Florida; Sean Weatherspoon, senior, Missouri.
	   Cornerbacks -- Perrish Cox, senior, Oklahoma State; Kyle Wilson, senior, Boise State.
	   Safeties -- Taylor Mays, senior, Southern California; Rahim Moore, sophomore, UCLA.
	   Punter -- Zoltan Mesko, senior, Michigan.
Third team
Offense
	   Quarterback -- Kellen Moore, sophomore, Boise State
	   Running backs -- LaMichael James, redshirt freshman, Oregon; Jacquizz Rodgers, sophomore, Oregon State.
	   Tackles -- Dennis Landolt, senior, Penn State; Ciron Black, senior, LSU.
	   Guards -- Brandon Carter, senior, Texas Tech; Jeff Byers, senior, Southern California.
	   Center -- Chris Hall, senior, Texas.
	   Tight end -- Dorin Dickerson, senior, Pittsburgh.
	   Wide receivers -- Freddie Barnes, senior, Bowling Green; Demaryius Thomas, junior, Georgia Tech.
	   All-purpose player -- Dexter McCluster, senior, Mississippi.
	   Kicker -- Hunter Lawrence, senior, Texas.
Defense
	   Ends -- Jeremy Beal, junior, Oklahoma; Brandon Sharpe, senior, Texas Tech.
	   Tackles -- Brian Price, junior, UCLA; Dan Williams, senior, Tennessee.
	   Linebackers -- Sergio Kindle, senior, Texas; Cody Grimm, senior, Virginia Tech; Navorro Bowman, junior, Penn State.
	   Cornerbacks -- Brandon Harris, sophomore, Miami; Alterraun Verner, senior, UCLA.
	   Safeties -- Tyler Sash, sophomore, Iowa; Mark Barron, sophomore, Alabama.
	   Punter -- Matt Reagan, senior, Memphis.

*Did you know he was in Tombstone, a.k.a. the SINGLE GREATEST MOVIE IN HISTORY? And in a phenomenal scene, to boot.

Mizzou Links, 12-17-09

Bill C. — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:52:29 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

about 1 month ago: Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo, left, reacts with safety Emmett Merchant following a turnover by Notre Dame during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game in South Bend, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Browse more photos »

Mizzou Football Links

The Trib (Dave Matter): Brian Coulter named finalist for Rudy Award

Congratulations to Missouri senior defensive end Brian Coulter, who has been named a finalist for the third annual Rudy Award, which according to the Rudy Foundation, honors "student-athletes who demonstrate exemplary character, courage, contribution and commitment." The award is named after former Notre Dame walk-on Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, whose inspiring story was immortalized in the film "Rudy."

The other finalists include Florida International senior defensive back O’Darris D’Haiti and Akron junior running back LeVon Morefield.

...

The 2009 selection committee includes current and former coaches Barry Alvarez, David Bailiff, Gary Barnett, Fisher DeBerry, Dennis Franchione, June Jones, Chuck Knox, Gary Patterson, Buddy Pough, Jackie Sherrill and Dick Tomey, as well as former Washington Redskins Quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams and NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson.
Post-Dispatch: Service academy special foe for Tigers
Houston Chronicle: Coaches exchange praise before Texas Bowl
PowerMizzou: Powered Up: Pinkel's biggest win
PowerMizzou: Video redshirt report: L'Damian Washington
PowerMizzou: Video redshirt report: Matt White
PowerMizzou: Commits take pride in ranking
PowerMizzou: Nick Demien welcomes change
PowerMizzou: Jimmie Hunt ready to play
Atomic Teeth: Danario Alexander and the NFL Draft: The Sound of Silence
NationalChamps.net: 2010 Early Bird College Football Preview

Big 12 Football Links

KC Star: KU fires receivers coach Beaty, last of Mangino's staff
KC Star: KU asks football assistants to pack up offices
Topeka Capital-Journal: Some Jayhawks looking to stay, return
Double-T Nation: Why It's Not the System

Big Ten Talk

KC Star: MU's Deaton confirms willingness to listen to Big Ten
KC Star: Missouri could be considered if Big Ten expands
KC Star (Campus Corner): Mizzou, Syracuse lead Big Ten derby
SI.com (Stewart Mandel): Expanding to 12 teams could hurt Big Ten in BCS, pocketbook
SimmonsField.com: Mizzou to the Big Ten? Not if you're a baseball fan
The Dagger: If the Big Ten expands, which school will join the conference?
Basketball Prospectus: Hoops implications of Big Ten expansion
EDSBS: THE INCREASINGLY INACCURATELY NAMED BIG TEN FOLLOWS THE MONEY

Mizzou Basketball Links

The Trib (Steve Walentik): Big 12 Power Poll
PowerMizzou: Like Father, Unlike Son: Tourney Team?
Mizzourah: Catching Up With Mizzou B-Ball

Big 12 Basketball Links

The Trib: Big bad Big 12
Rush the Court: Checking in on... the Big 12
Austin American-Statesman: Big 12 basketball is on top of the world

Predicting The Big 12 Bowls

Beergut — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:49:36 -0000

These are just my gut predictions on who will win each bowl game, without doing any serious analysis:

Independence Bowl, Aggies vs Georgia: I think Georgia wins this one by ten. I am worried we will play them tough, but we'll be trailing by a field goal late in the game and they'll tack on one more score to win it by double-digits.
Holiday Bowl, Nebraska vs Arizona: I think this will be a close one, with Arizona possibly pulling it out by a late field goal to win by one or two points. Nebraska simply has to do something with their offense; if they can move the ball at all on offense, they will win easily.
Sun Bowl, Oklahoma vs Stanford: This should actually be a very competitive game, but I think Oklahoma will eventually pull away and win it by 10 points. OU's defensive line will help slow down Toby Gerhart.
Texas Bowl, Missouri vs Navy: Missouri will win this one by two TDs, if not more. Missouri will struggle stopping Navy's option offense, but Navy won't be able to stop Danario Alexander, who will have a monster game.
Insight Bowl, Iowa State vs Minnesota: I like Iowa State to pull the upset in this game. I have nothing to base this on other than the fact that I think Paul Rhoads is an outstanding coach who will have his team ready to play.
Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma State vs Ole Miss: Assuming Zac Robinson is healthy, this one probably won't be close. Dexter McCluster for Mississippi is a helluva player, but expect OSU to win this one.
Alamo Bowl, Texas Tech vs Michigan State: I don't like Leach's decision to start Taylor Potts, and Tech ended the season with a whimper, almost losing to Baylor. However, Michigan State has off-the-field issues that is distracting them, and I think Tech will be motivated by last year's embarrassment in Dallas. Tech wins by 7.
BCS National Championship Game, texas vs Alabama: This game will feature two terrific defenses playing against two competent but not stellar offenses. When you have a game which features two very good defenses, the initial team to pick is the team with the better running game. texas doesn't have a dependable running game, Alabama's offense is their running game, and they have the offensive line to make some holes against Lamarr Houston, Sam Acho, and the other members of texas' defensive front. Alabama's offensive line will wear down texas' defense, and they'll win the game by at least ten points.

Those are my bowl predictions for all the Big 12 teams in bowls. I have us going 4-3 as a conference in our bowl games. What do you think?

Mizzou Links, 12-14-09

Bill C. — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:48:01 -0000

Recruiting!

The Trib (Dave Matter): Gabbert pulls trigger, commits to MU
Post-Dispatch: Tigers get another Gabbert
PowerMizzou: Gabbert talks commitment
PowerMizzou: Missouri leaves Curtis Carter 'in awe'
"It was like one big family," Carter said. "When people say that, it's so true."

Carter said it starts with the players. He spent most of the weekend hanging out with his host, cornerback Kevin Rutland, and seniors Sean Weatherspoon and Danario Alexander. What immediately jumped out to the four-star receiver was the accessibility of Missouri's stars.

"The players were great," Carter said. "None of them seemed too stuck up, or didn't want to talk to the young guys in town. We could ask them questions, and they answered about everything."
PowerMizzou: Visit solidifies Henry Josey's plans
PowerMizzou: Kenronte Walker makes final stop
Longview News-Journal: Gilmer Buckeyes (home of commits Tristan Holt and Braylon Webb) bring home state title
PowerMizzou: Photo Gallery: Recruits take in hoops game
KC Star (Campus Corner): Of Mizzou Hoops and Football Recruits and Suh and Gill and Line Drive Singles
The Trib (Dave Matter): Four and Out

A few thoughts on Tyler Gabbert: His high school statistics won’t blow you away. He doesn’t have the flashy measurables, at least compared to his brother, Blaine. And at this point, nobody knows if he’ll become a productive Big 12 quarterback or a career backup. But we do know this much: Kid’s got a pair. And they’re brass. On Friday, Gabbert called 1620 AM The Zone, a sports radio station in Omaha and asked for a chance to explain his decision to drop his commitment to Nebraska. I can’t say I’ve EVER heard of a high school recruit doing that. During the interview, which you can hear in its entirety at this link, Gabbert insisted he initiated the de-commitment, contrary to what Nebraska fans and some Nebraska reporters believe. The hosts asked the questions that needed to be asked from their angle, and to Gabbert’s credit, he handled the questions impressively for a high school senior.

We’ve learned a lot about Blaine Gabbert’s toughness and personality this season, and even though it’s going to be a while before we know what kind of college quarterback Tyler will become, some of those intangibles are part of his makeup, too. At least according to someone who knows him well. "Tyler is the most competitive athlete I’ve ever seen," their dad, Chuck Gabbert, told me last week. "That’s something that makes him a better athlete. But it’s like anything else when you’re following in your brother’s footsteps in high school and you’re linked to him, fair or unfair. He’s kind of proven himself repeatedly based on that. … Competition is just part of the deal. So, as far as being a competitor, I’ve never seen a kid that’s a bigger competitor than him. It’ll be fun."

Bowl Practice

The Trib: Bowl practices are invaluable
PowerMizzou: PMTV: Battle up front
PowerMizzou: PMTV: Pitch and catch
PowerMizzou: Redshirt reports: Marvin Foster
Mizzourah: Texas Bowl Promo Video

Turner Gill

SB Nation: Kansas Hires Turner Gill as New Football Coach
Rock Chalk Talk: Turner Gill to Kansas
Dr. Saturday: Turner Gill's brass ring awaits (finally) in Kansas
KC Star: Turner Gill to be named next football coach at Kansas
KC Star: Tommie Frazier on Gill: 'Great hire'
KC Star: KU's new coordinators
KC Star: Gill breaks mold: A head coach from Nebraska
KC Star: KU fans hope to see Gill involved with community
Lawrence Journal-World (Jesse Newell): Getting to know Turner Gill ...
Double Extra Point: Good for Turner Gill, Great for Kansas

Mizzou is Better Than Fairleigh Dickinson at Basketball

MUtigers.com: Missouri defeats Fairleigh Dickinson, 87-36
MUtigers.com: Mizzou Basketball Post Game Quotes
The Trib: Tigers are in a giving mood
The Missourian: Missouri beats Fairleigh Dickinson
The Missourian: Missouri basketball freshmen get chance to shine
The Missourian: Freshman Dixon comfortable playing Missouri's style
KC Star: Missouri rolls over Fairleigh Dickinson
KC Star: PHOTO GALLERY
Post-Dispatch: Mizzou cruises at home

Mizzou Links, 12-11-09

Bill C. — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:31:47 -0000

Practice Reports!!

The Trib (Dave Matter): Tigers wrap up first bowl practice
This is a huge three weeks for some young players as the established veterans take to the sideline and watch the rookies get valuable practice reps and extra coaching from the staff. It's especially a pivotal time for the wide receiver corps, in my opinion. The Tigers will somehow have to replace their most valuable player next season (Danario Alexander) as well as a reliable No. 2 option in Perry. Who's next? These next few weeks of practice could be telling. All eyes will be on Rolandis Woodland, but he didn't exactly make the most of his chances during 11-on-11 drills. LB Zaviar Gooden stripped the ball from Woodland after a short catch over the middle for a takeaway. Later, Woodland let a ball bounce off his hands and into a pair of nearby defenders, though the pass fell incomplete. As much as will be expected from QB Blaine Gabbert in his second season as MU's starter in 2010, will he have the playmakers to keep the offense rolling next season? Stay tuned.
PowerMizzou: Young players in spotlight during bowl workouts
PowerMizzou: New Opportunities
It wasn't just the defensive newbies that got in on the action, however. LDamian Washington made a series of tough grabs over the middle of the field in double and triple coverage. T.J. Moe, who's seen some playing time this year, made a fantastic diving catch on an short, errant throw. Alex Sanders put a double move on Missouri's defensive backs, and caught a ball in stride 30 yards down field for a touchdown.

"It gets you ready for spring ball," Jaron Baston said, remembering his time as a redshirt freshman. "All year, you kind of sit around. You don't get to do anything. It's your first time out of high school not playing football ever, so these practices here get you back in the groove of hitting and getting physical again, and gives you something to look forward to next season."

Who Should Win the Heisman?

cocknfire — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:30:13 -0000

More photos » by JACOB HARRIS - AP

Might cocknfire's vote go to a Notre Dame player, like Johnny Lujack?

Browse more photos »

Hopefully in time to be included in the Sports Blog Heisman Trophy presented by The Blue Workhorse.

This is not the easiest year to craft a Heisman ballot, at least not the way it should be done. As I've said before, the Heisman is becoming too much like the MVP award, and the MVP is becoming too much like the Heisman. Remember that the Heisman Award is supposed to go to "the most outstanding college football player in the United States." There is no reference there to how valuable you are to your team. There's not even a suggestion that your team has to be very good. The winner has to "the most outstanding." That's a tall order for anyone to fill.

Which is why I get distressed when I hear people touted for the award because his team is great and "they just couldn't do it without him." If the numbers back up that player being the most outstanding, fine. But his team's achievements shouldn't be as important to a candidate's chances as they are.

That said, they can't be discounted either. Which is why you have to at least look at Colt McCoy -- until you realize that he's having either his worst or second-worst statistical year and has nearly disappeared in three of his team's biggest games (Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Nebraska). Because showing up for the big games does matter if you're going to be most outstanding.

Showing up for almost all the games also matters. It's not just enough to be good overall; you need to have games where you shine. Just because your team's achievements aren't central to the award doesn't mean the ability to carry a team, either in victory or defeat, isn't something we should look for in a Heisman candidate.

But the overall numbers are a good place to start. I've chosen a few players from several different categories to consider. The choices aren't that easy to make; there are a lot of good football players in the NCAA -- and I threw in Tim Tebow because this is an SEC blog and so he has to at least be considered.

First, the quarterbacks.

Your going to want to click that for a larger version because it's got a lot of good info in there. For those unfamiliar with PEPCT (pass efficiency percentage), it's a new stat I'm still tweaking that measures a quarterbacks performance against defenses based on those defenses' normal pass efficiency numbers. And we should note that Tebow also has 859 rushing yards and 13 TDs on the ground.

But even if you add the rushing yards, Tebow just hasn't produced as much as Kellen Moore or Jimmy Clausen. The touchdown numbers would move him past Clausen, but he's thrown almost as twice as many picks as Clausen in comparison to the number of attempts. The numbers just don't support a Heisman candidacy this year.

Still, let's look at how players tended to do on a week-by-week basis.

You're not reading that incorrectly; Tim Tebow has passed for 250 or more yards in one game (Arkansas) all season long. Yes, I realize that Tebow is a running quarterback; but you should have to throw the ball for more than 250 yards more than once in a season to be a Heisman contender.

Not that there's nothing wrong with the other two contenders. It was hard to come up with a "signature" game for either -- their best games came either against weak opponents or when their teams lost, and like McCoy they sometimes had subpar outings in important games. For example, Moore's numbers aren't terrible against Oregon, but it was still his worst game statistically. And Clausen's "signature" game was against a team that defeated Notre Dame.

I'll choose Kellen Moore as the best of the quarterbacks.

Running backs overall.

It's harder to adjust statistically for defenses with running backs than with quarterbacks, though I'm working on a couple of possible ways to do it. In any case, here are a few things that I found interesting about this chart. First, Mark Ingram is undeniably the best per carry by more than a half-yard. Second, he has the edge in receiving yards. But look at Gerhart's touchdown numbers; they are absurd. He essentially scored every twelfth time he ran the ball. Dion Lewis was very good, but he just can't quite compare with what Ingram and Gerhart did overall.

Weekly.

Here is where Ingram's candidacy takes a little bit of a hit. Three times he rushed the ball for fewer than 75 yards, a mark that Gerhart and Lewis never falled to make. Even against the defenses of the SEC, the "most outstanding" should do better than that -- especially at rival Auburn with a chance at an undefeated season on the line.

Gerhart was more consistent by far this year, and his worst game seems just a little bit better than the others. Sure, it was against Wake Forest, but at least it wasn't against Navy.

So Toby Gerhart gets first place among the running backs, with Mark Ingram a close enough second to warrant further consideration later.

I've never understood why wide receivers don't get more consideration than they do for the award. So let's take a look at some of the better wideouts this year.

How hard was it for an SEC fan to include two Notre Dame players on his list of potential Heisman candidates? I don't want to talk about it.

But Golden Tate had an outstanding year. Look at that touchdown percentage and the yards per catch. With 45 fewer catches than Freddie Barnes against tougher competition, he had just 55 fewer receiving yards. Another 14 receptions for Danario Alexander only earned him 148 additional yards. The edge is resoundingly to Tate among the players I looked at here.

Weekly.

This is where Alexander and Barnes fall off the table to me. Both have more games with fewer than 75 yards than Tate and were far worse in their worst outings. (Though one becomes more and more curious as to how Notre Dame lost to Stanford. Oh, that's right. They had to play defense.)

So the best wideout of the group appears to be Golden Tate.

Finally, we have to look at defenders and examine this hype about Nebraska's Ndouopiufdsoia Suh, or something like that.

Dr. Saturday is the one who got me to consider Brandon Graham. And you've never heard of Von Miller at Texas A&M, who was completely off my radar until I started looking through the numbers. I know you've heard of Ndamukong Suh, because you probably watch football on ESPN and they mention his name almost as frequently as McCoy's.

All three of these players are very good, and consider that Suh was probably double-teamed more than any defensive lineman in the country. Even so, based purely on the statistics, you have to give Miller the edge here.

Weekly.

If you thought that Suh was almost unstoppable against Texas in the Big XII Championship Game, you were right. Four and a half sacks among six tackles for loss and 11 overall. Nothing Graham or Miller did all year can come close to matching that.

Counting all of those things and throwing in some of those "intangibles," I have to go with Ndamukong Suh as the defensive candidate.

Leaving us with:

Kellen Moore
Toby Gerhart
Mark Ingram
Golden Tate
Ndamukong Suh

One of these names is really in a different league from the others -- literally -- and that's Moore. He had a great year for Boise State, but playing in any midmajor save the Mountain West isn't quite like playing in a BCS conference. For consideration, you need to put up laughable numbers, and Moore's not quite there.

The next cut is tough, but I'm removing Golden Tate. That's hard, because I really wanted to see him at least get considered. He is, though, on a 6-6 team that not's going to a bowl game. Gerhart was on the best Stanford team in years, Ingram helped win an SEC Championship and Suh led the Cornhuskers to a Big XII North title. Again, the team's season can't be the central point. But we're getting to the point here where hair-splitting is all that's left.

So the top three are Gerhart, Ingram and Suh. Not terribly original. But the idea here is not to be surprising or creative; it's to find the best. Find me better than any of those three at their positions. I don't think it can be done.

We're allowed three names for the final ballot. So I now have to put them in order. This is the hardest part, because I honestly think any one of these players is more than deserving.

But Ingram disappeared one time too many. And as good as Suh was for Nebraska this year -- and as scared as I'd be to tell him this to his face -- the numbers put up by Toby Gerhart are almost incomparable. Gerhart it is.

1. Toby Gerhart
2. Mark Ingram
3. Ndamukong Suh

Targets and Catches (Part Two, a.k.a. Will Franklin's Redemption)

Bill C. — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:00:17 -0000

Image via The Trib's G.J. McCarthy

You may have noticed that, somewhere around 1pm yesterday, the title of yesterday's "Targets and Catches" post changed to "Targets and Catches (Part One)." That's because I figured out the next direction I wanted to take the concept of targets and couldn't wait to get started on it.

As discussed yesterday, the concept of targets (catches + incomplete passes intended for a given receiver) versus catches is a pretty good one, despite the likely flaws in the ways target data is collected (dropped/tipped passes that become interceptions don't have target data attached, not every scorekeeper probably records targets the same way, etc.). It allows us to look into a receiver's reliability in ways that simpler measures do not, and once national data is collected on this (offseason project #12,424), it might give us a way to measure a quarterback's performance independent of the quality of his receivers (hey Uribe Auction, here's how we get to Receiver Independent Passing Stats, or RIPS...I love it when a plan comes together).

But simply looking at a players Catch% (Catches per Target) does a disservice to those who are likely to run deeper, lower-percentage routes. How about we do this as well: create a Yards Per Target measure. Yards Per Catch is a good way to measure a receiver's explosiveness, and wouldn't the incorporation of target data create something that shows us both explosiveness and reliability? Let's try that.

Below are tables for 2006-09 giving us the following information:

Catches
Yards
Catch% (Catches divided by Targets)
Yards Per Target

2006

2006 Yards Per Target
Name	Pos.	Catches	Yards	Catch%	Yds/Target
Chase Coffman	TE	58	638	65.2%	7.2
Martin Rucker	TE	53	511	77.9%	7.5
Will Franklin	WR	48	829	57.8%	10.0
Jared Perry	WR	37	429	67.3%	7.8
Brad Ekwerekwu	WR	32	430	64.0%	8.6
Tommy Saunders	WR	25	271	73.5%	8.0
Danario Alexander	WR	15	251	71.4%	12.0
Jason Ray	WR	6	50	40.0%	3.3
Tony Temple	RB	6	34	85.7%	4.9
Earl Goldsmith	RB	5	59	100.0%	11.8
Greg Bracey	WR	3	79	50.0%	13.2
Marcus Woods	RB	2	11	40.0%	2.2
Jimmy Jackson	RB	1	-2	50.0%	-1.0
Andrew Hoskins	WR	0	0	0.0%	0.0
TOTAL	ALL	291	3,590	66.0%	8.1

Here's where we start to see the value of Will Franklin. The 'Copta had an awful catch rate this season, but as we see here, a) he made up for it with his explosiveness, and b) being a deep threat means you're probably seeing more low-percentage passes. Meanwhile, tight ends running high-percentage routes will have good catch rates, but their Yards Per Target figures show that while it's good to have high-percentage targets, there isn't necessarily a lot of explosiveness there.

Two other interesting things to note:

1) Danario was very clearly showing his big-play potential early on. It really is a damn shame that he ended up having to fight so many injuries, but on the bright side, if he hadn't, he'd have almost certainly gone pro last year.

2) Clearly we should have been passing to Earl Goldsmith more often. Ahem.

2007

Image via the inestimable Bill Carter

2007 Yards Per Target
Name	Pos.	Catches	Yards	Catch%	Yds/Target
Martin Rucker	TE	84	834	77.8%	7.7
Jeremy Maclin	WR	80	1,055	72.1%	9.5
Chase Coffman	TE	52	531	80.0%	8.2
Will Franklin	WR	49	709	64.5%	9.3
Tommy Saunders	WR	41	397	74.5%	7.2
Danario Alexander	WR	37	417	77.1%	8.7
Jared Perry	WR	13	152	65.0%	7.6
Derrick Washington	RB	10	70	71.4%	5.0
Jason Ray	WR	8	61	80.0%	6.1
Tony Temple	RB	7	68	77.8%	7.6
Jimmy Jackson	RB	6	30	100.0%	5.0
Earl Goldsmith	RB	4	20	66.7%	3.3
Greg Bracey	WR	3	53	33.3%	5.9
Blake May	WR	0	0	0.0%	0.0
TOTAL	ALL	394	4,397	73.2%	8.2

And here's where the numbers even out for Senor Goldsmith.

Even though his YPT dipped in 2007, Franklin was still a decent weapon here, averaging over 9.0 per target (which appears to be a pretty good number) and, as we must not forget, becoming one helluva downfield blocker for Maclin. In all, Chase Coffman was the most reliable target this season, but obviously the WRs were more dangerous, even though they didn't really thrust too many nunchuks.

(Non-RMN regulars just read and re-read that last sentence 5-6 times, then gave up on figuring it out what it meant. Here's the explanation.)

2008

Bill Carter again

2008 Yards Per Target
Name	Pos.	Catches	Yards	Catch%	Yds/Target
Jeremy Maclin	WR	102	1,260	75.6%	9.3
Chase Coffman	TE	90	987	88.2%	9.7
Tommy Saunders	WR	72	833	78.3%	9.1
Jared Perry	WR	41	567	68.3%	9.5
Derrick Washington	RB	29	277	76.3%	7.3
Danario Alexander	WR	26	329	60.5%	7.7
Andrew Jones	TE	20	146	83.3%	6.1
Jerrell Jackson	WR	9	98	69.2%	7.5
Earl Goldsmith	WR	5	58	83.3%	9.7
Michael Egnew	TE	4	22	50.0%	2.8
Jimmy Jackson	RB	3	26	75.0%	6.5
Wes Kemp	WR	1	15	50.0%	7.5
Jon Gissinger	TE	1	10	100.0%	10.0
Brandon Gerau	WR	0	0	0.0%	0.0
Forrest Shock	WR	0	0	0.0%	0.0
TOTAL	ALL	403	4,628	76.0%	8.7

Here's where Chase Coffman became the best tight end we'll ever see. He was so reliable that throwing to him actually resulted in more yards per target than Jeremy Maclin, All-American. Here's also where Jared Perry, a.k.a. Will Franklin 2.0, began to show value. He was a reasonably reliable option his first couple of years (obviously targeted much more in 2006 than 2007, when Maclin emerged), but while he still couldn't hit 70% from a Catch% perspective, his big-play ability went up a notch, and he went from averaging 7-8 yards per target to over 9. Meanwhile, Jerrell Jackson registered with numbers very similar to Perry's freshman numbers, albeit on a small sample size.

2009

Yup, Bill Carter.

2009 Yards Per Target
Name	Pos.	Catches	Yards	Catch%	Yds/Target
Danario Alexander	WR	107	1,644	73.8%	11.3
Jared Perry	WR	46	695	53.5%	8.1
Jerrell Jackson	WR	37	458	60.7%	7.5
Wes Kemp	WR	23	335	52.3%	7.6
Derrick Washington	RB	23	99	69.7%	3.0
Andrew Jones	TE	7	39	58.3%	3.3
Rolandis Woodland	WR	4	23	66.7%	3.8
Michael Egnew	TE	3	25	60.0%	5.0
De'Vion Moore	RB	3	13	100.0%	4.3
Kendial Lawrence	RB	2	42	100.0%	21.0
Brandon Gerau	WR	2	19	66.7%	6.3
T.J. Moe	WR	2	8	40.0%	1.6
Gilbert Moye	RB	1	5	50.0%	2.5
TOTAL	ALL	260	3,405	63.9%	8.4

And here's where we find out just how amazing Danario Alexander has been this season (as if there were any doubt). Looking only at receivers who were targeted at least ten times in a given season, Alexander's 11.3 per-target average is topped only by ... 2006 Danario Alexander, who was targeted only 21 times. For ~~Domino Axelrod~~ Danario to be both this reliable and this explosive has just been amazing.

Here are the overall averages per position:

WR: 67.3% catch rate, 8.7 yards per target
TE: 77.2% catch rate, 8.2 yards per target
RB: 75.0% catch rate, 5.5 yards per target

So for the last four seasons, here are your top ten in terms of Yards Per Target (with a minimum of ten targets):

Danario Alexander (2006): 12.0 per target (on 21 targets)
Danario Alexander (2009): 11.3 (145)
Will Franklin (2006): 10.0 (83)
Chase Coffman (2008): 9.7 (102)
Jeremy Maclin (2007): 9.5 (111)
Jared Perry (2008): 9.5 (60)
Jeremy Maclin (2008): 9.3 (135)
Will Franklin (2007): 9.3 (76)
Tommy Saunders (2008): 9.1 (92)
Danario Alexander (2007): 8.7 (48)

Will Franklin, you are absolved.

Danario Alexander, you officially have a case for having been the best receiver in Mizzou history.

Targets and Catches (Part One)

Bill C. — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:00:15 -0000

One of the measures I am looking to track more in-depth in the future, in terms of my play-by-play data, is the notion of catches versus targets. In the play-by-play data exists a line that I have yet allowed to go unrecorded: "Pass incomplete to _____." Obviously I record that the pass is incomplete, but I have not really paid attention to who the pass was intended for. It's a rather objective measure -- does everybody record who a pass was intended for the same way? If the QB is throwing the ball away and it goes 20 feet over a certain receiver's head, does it count as an incompletion "to" that receiver? Does every score-keeper even keep track of this? Plus, if a ball is tipped by a receiver and intercepted (e.g. Jerrell Jackson in the Oklahoma State game), the "intended for" bit isn't recorded. Clearly this is a piece of data that is rather inconsistent.

That said, this is also one of those measures where you figure that the inconsistencies balance out over time. Even if it doesn't paint a perfect picture, it probably tells an interesting story. Therefore, let's take a look at how our view of a receiver's (or quarterback's) performance changes when adding in "intended for" data.

The categories below are:

Catches: receptions
Targets: receptions + incomplete passes intended for that receiver (as recorded in the play-by-play data). In general, you can think of those incomplete passes as either being a) dropped or b) too well-covered to be completed. If your QB is accurate, you will obviously catch more of your targeted passes, but if you struggle to get open and clear space from the guy covering you, a lot more of your targeted passes are going to fall incomplete.
Catch%: the percentage of "targets" a receiver catches
Target%: the percentage of a team's overall targets aimed at a specific receiver

Without further ado, let's take a look at the last four years of Mizzou "target" data and see what it tells us.

2006

Image via Phoebe Sexton / Columbia Missourian

2006 Targets and Catches
Name	Catches	Targets	Catch%	Target%
Chase Coffman	58	89	65.2%	20.2%
Will Franklin	48	83	57.8%	18.8%
Martin Rucker	53	68	77.9%	15.4%
Jared Perry	37	55	67.3%	12.5%
Brad Ekwerekwu	32	50	64.0%	11.3%
Tommy Saunders	25	34	73.5%	7.7%
Danario Alexander	15	21	71.4%	4.8%
Jason Ray	6	15	40.0%	3.4%
Tony Temple	6	7	85.7%	1.6%
Greg Bracey	3	6	50.0%	1.4%
Marcus Woods	2	5	40.0%	1.1%
Earl Goldsmith	5	5	100.0%	1.1%
Jimmy Jackson	1	2	50.0%	0.5%
Andrew Hoskins	0	1	0.0%	0.2%
TOTAL	291	441	66.0%	100.0%

WRs: 60.1% of targets
TEs: 35.6%
RBs: 4.3%

Before looking at ensuing seasons, it is hard to get a grasp on what these numbers actually mean, but a couple of things should stick out pretty quickly. First, thanks to a midseason bout with the dropsies, Chase Coffman's numbers were only decent, not great. Martin Rucker was a rather automatic target at TE, but Coffman wasn't amazing. Meanwhile, if your #1 WR is only catching 58% of the passes thrown at him, that is going to do a number on your completion percentage.

Anyway, before we try to interpret this too much, let's take a look at how 2007 unfolded.

2007

Image via ESPN.com

2007 Targets and Catches
Name	Catches	Targets	Catch%	Target%
Jeremy Maclin	80	111	72.1%	20.6%
Martin Rucker	84	108	77.8%	20.1%
Will Franklin	49	76	64.5%	14.1%
Chase Coffman	52	65	80.0%	12.1%
Tommy Saunders	41	55	74.5%	10.2%
Danario Alexander	37	48	77.1%	8.9%
Jared Perry	13	20	65.0%	3.7%
Derrick Washington	10	14	71.4%	2.6%
Jason Ray	8	10	80.0%	1.9%
Greg Bracey	3	9	33.3%	1.7%
Tony Temple	7	9	77.8%	1.7%
Earl Goldsmith	4	6	66.7%	1.1%
Jimmy Jackson	6	6	100.0%	1.1%
Blake May	0	1	0.0%	0.2%
TOTAL	394	538	73.2%	100.0%

WRs: 63.9% of targets
TEs: 32.2%
RBs: 3.9%

Despite a deep, experienced cast of receivers (Rucker and Franklin were seniors, Coffman and Saunders were juniors), Jeremy Maclin came out of nowhere to become Chase Daniel's most trusted receiver. His 72% Catch% was much higher than Will Franklin's 58% from the season before. Meanwhile, MotherRucker stayed right around 78% while Chase Coffman improved dramatically, from 65% to 80%. Franklin did improve to 65%, but he was still a far less reliable target than others around him. Of course, he obviously ran deeper routes than guys like Coffman, Rucker or Saunders, so that might have something to do with it. Then again, were his routes any different than those of Maclin? Maclin still outshone him in that regard.

With Maclin and an extra year of experience for Chase Daniel, the overall Catch% rose from 66% to 73% in 2007. This, of course, tells us nothing about how many passes Daniel chose to throw away (which would just go in the play-by-play as "pass incomplete" with no "intended for" information), but it does show that Daniel was completing one more pass for roughly every 14 catchable balls in 2007, and that could make a difference of 2-3 completions per game.

2008

Image via Chris Lee / Post-Dispatch

2008 Targets and Catches
Name	Catches	Targets	Catch%	Target%
Jeremy Maclin	102	135	75.6%	25.5%
Chase Coffman	90	102	88.2%	19.2%
Tommy Saunders	72	92	78.3%	17.4%
Jared Perry	41	60	68.3%	11.3%
Danario Alexander	26	43	60.5%	8.1%
Derrick Washington	29	38	76.3%	7.2%
Andrew Jones	20	24	83.3%	4.5%
Jerrell Jackson	9	13	69.2%	2.5%
Michael Egnew	4	8	50.0%	1.5%
Earl Goldsmith	5	6	83.3%	1.1%
Jimmy Jackson	3	4	75.0%	0.8%
Wes Kemp	1	2	50.0%	0.4%
Jon Gissinger	1	1	100.0%	0.2%
Brandon Gerau	0	1	0.0%	0.2%
Forrest Shock	0	1	0.0%	0.2%
TOTAL	403	530	76.0%	100.0%

WRs: 66.6% of targets
TEs: 25.5%
RBs: 7.9%

In 2008, Missouri lost Martin Rucker and his 78% catch rate but still improved as a team, from 73% to 76%. Danario Alexander aside (this was the year he was recovering from knee injuries and was clearly not as confident/aggressive a receiver), just about everybody showed improvement. Coffman improved to a sickening 88% (that means that eight of every nine balls that were thrown at him and were even remotely catchable, were caught...yeah, he deserved the Mackey Award), Saunders improved to 78%, which is the highest you'll see from a highly-targeted receiver, and even Maclin improved to 76%. Having a ton of reps with the same quarterback helped a ton, I'm sure, as did the fact that said quarterback (Daniel) was as automatic as a computer in his reads, especially over the first half of the season.

So what happens when you lose your quarterback and your top three targets? As shocking as it may sound, your numbers go down!

2009

Image via the one, the only Bill Carter

2009 Targets and Catches
Name	Catches	Targets	Catch%	Target%
Danario Alexander	107	145	73.8%	35.6%
Jared Perry	46	86	53.5%	21.1%
Jerrell Jackson	37	61	60.7%	15.0%
Wes Kemp	23	44	52.3%	10.8%
Derrick Washington	23	33	69.7%	8.1%
Andrew Jones	7	12	58.3%	2.9%
Rolandis Woodland	4	6	66.7%	1.5%
Michael Egnew	3	5	60.0%	1.2%
T.J. Moe	2	5	40.0%	1.2%
De'Vion Moore	3	3	100.0%	0.7%
Brandon Gerau	2	3	66.7%	0.7%
Kendial Lawrence	2	2	100.0%	0.5%
Gilbert Moye	1	2	50.0%	0.5%
TOTAL	260	407	63.9%	100.0%

WRs: 86.0% of targets
TEs: 4.2%
RBs: 9.8%

So here's where I start to get encouraged about Blaine Gabbert's prospects moving forward. With a relatively similar cast of characters in the receiving corps (Alexander was clearly better than any receiver in 2006, but Gabbert was without anyone nearing the reliability of Rucker, so they cancel out) and the propensity for throwing many more deep balls than Daniel, the Catch% for Gabbert's sophomore season was almost identical to Daniel's.

Now, unless one of our redshirting freshmen is suddenly capable of pulling a Jeremy Maclin impersonation (doubtful, to say the very least), Gabbert will head into 2010 without his top two targets, which is obviously something Daniel didn't have to worry about heading into 2007. However, while losing Alexander is a huge concern, losing Perry simply might not be too big a deal. Jackson has done a lovely Perry impersonation in recent weeks, and besides, Perry's 54% catch rate is simply horrendous. We know that Perry had a decent amount of bad luck this season -- how many times did Gabbert throw too high for him in the Oklahoma State game? -- but 54% is too low to blame simply on bad luck. Over four seasons, Perry never topped 70%, and while Jackson's 61% is nothing impressive, it is still better than what Perry managed this season. With another year (at least) of getting used to catching Gabbert's fastballs (and another year of Gabbert learning to keep the ball down as much as possible), I would expect Jackson's catch rate to be closer to the 65-70% range next year.

However, is that good enough? Gabbert can be expected to improve a decent amount next year, but ... who becomes the #1 target? And if it's Jackson, can Mizzou succeed at a high level with a #1 WR target catching only 65-70%, especially when there is suddenly no ultra-reliable tight end option to fall back on in times where a completion absolutely must be made?

Speaking of the tight end position, I guess this is the year in which we officially learned that WRs and TEs are basically exactly the same in this system. Alexander's Target% of 35% this year was 10% higher than Maclin ever managed and came within 10% of matching that of Maclin and Coffman from 2008. Lining up in the tight end slot position quite often, Alexander was actually able to approximately compensate for the loss of both players this year and catch passes at a very high rate for a receiver. Meanwhile, thanks to Alexander being a WR, tight ends accounted for only 4% of targets this year, and that's only if you count Michael Egnew as a tight end. The position disappeared from Mizzou's repertoire, but the passing numbers stayed relatively successful thanks to Alexander. With Alexander gone in 2010, do we see guys like Andrew Jones or Egnew working their way back into Gabbert's sights, or will another big receiver like Wes Kemp move into that role?

I have a lot more questions here than answers, but answers weren't the purpose of this exercise. I wanted to see if target data was viable and interesting, and while I found it both of those things, I'm curious what you think.

Sports Blog Heisman Trophy: Rock M Nation's ballot

RPT — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:30:12 -0000

He's not feeling any love nationally, but he's sure got the Heisman pose down. Did 'Nario receive any votes on Rock M Nation's ballot for the Sports Blog Heisman Trophy? (Photo: Bill Carter | Rock M Nation)

A large number of college football bloggers are combining to submit ballots for the second annual Sports Blog Heisman Trophy, hosted by The Blue Workhorse. Tim Tebow was last year's winner after edging out Sam Bradford.

To compile Rock M Nation's ballot, Bill, Beef, GHT and I submitted our top three finishers and assigned them points according to the system used for actual balloting. Rock M Nation's vote will be classified in the Midwest region.

Rock M Nation's winner is...

Toby Gerhart

Photo: Sports Illustrated

Final Tally

	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Toby Gerhart	2	2		10
Ndamukong Suh	2	1		8
Mark Ingram		1	1	3
Colt McCoy			1	1
Danario Alexander			1	1
C.J. Spiller			1	1

RPT's ballot:
1. Ndamukong Suh
2. Toby Gerhart
3. Colt McCoy

ghtd36's ballot:
1. Toby Gerhart
2. Mark Ingram
3. Danario Alexander

Bill C.'s ballot:
1. Ndamukong Suh
2. Toby Gerhart
3. Mark Ingram

The Beef's ballot:
1. Toby Gerhart
2. Ndamukong Suh
3. C.J. Spiller