SB Nation - John Beck

Greatest Rivalry Week Moment: Beck To Harline

Layton — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:01:42 -0000

Voice overlay with Greg Wrubell and Marc Lyons

This moment will most likely forever be the pinnacle for BYU fans in this great rivalry. Given the history, the struggles, the fight of the 2006 football team, I don't know if there is a more meaningful game in Cougar football history...

Poll

Given everything involving the 2006 Cougars (their pathetic history, their reemergence to success, troubles on and off the field, etc) is this the greatest game in Cougar history (remember who they're playing)?

Yes, without question

9 votes

No, the Holiday Bowl win over Michigan reigns supreme

5 votes

No, the Miracle Bowl is the best ever

2 votes

No, beating Miami in 1990 has to be it

4 votes

20 votes | Poll has closed

Of Mice and Men - and Max

sroufe — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:48:21 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Browse more photos »

"A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. It don't make any difference who the guy is, so long as he's with you. I tell ya...I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick."

It's a good thing Max has friends like Matt Reynolds that can pummel Hall's vilifiers. Apologies for beating the proverbial horse here, but this is too polarizing and interesting of an issue to ignore. Many Cougar fans, much to Mendenhall's dismay, continue to criticize Max Hall's performance - both this year and cumulatively. Of course, Hall has thrown ten interceptions already this season and several were primarily his fault despite the best efforts of his coaches to state otherwise. His clutch play against Oklahoma has been negated to some extent by subpar games against Florida State and Colorado State. These results have caused critics to reminisce on Hall's poor finish to 2008 and his struggles against defenses that play above the MWC average.

Still, Hall is presently 6th in the nation in quarterback efficiency with a 162.6 rating. Only Clausen (Notre Dame), Moore (Boise St.), Tebow (Florida), Bill Stull (Pitt) and Riley Skinner (Wake Forest) are higher. He has led the Cougars to fairly consistent national recognition during his tenure, including the program's greatest regular season win in well over a decade. He has generated 26 wins as a starter - behind just Ty Detmer and Marc Wilson (T-29) in school history.

Even if Hall (9, 528 career passing yards) were to have a Derek Anderson-esque disaster on Saturday, he will pass Jim McMahon (9,536) to become 3^rd all-time in passing yards among BYU quarterbacks. Hall currently trails John Beck (11,021) by 1,493 yards. To catch Beck, Hall has to average 213 yards passing for the remaining seven games. That appears very attainable considering the Cougars still have San Diego State, New Mexico and Wyoming on the schedule.

To give you an idea of how far out there Ty Detmer (15,031) is in first place, Hall would have to average 786 yards passing per game for the remainder of 2009 to catch the Heisman winner.

Here's a breakdown of Max's current standing:

Player, Years	Psg. Eff. Rtg.	Psg. Yards	Yrds./Attmpt.	Comp. %	TD	INT
Ty Detmer, 1988-91	162.74	15,031	9.83	62.61%	121	65
Steve Sarkisian, 1995-96	161.96	7,464	9.46	66.92%	53	26
Jim McMahon, 1977-78; 1980-81	157.50	9,536	9.03	61.84%	84	34
Brandon Doman, 1998-2001	152.03	4,354	8.64	62.10%	35	14
Steve Young, 1981-83	149.82	7,733	8.52	65.20%	56	33
Max Hall, 2007-Present	149.53	9,528	8.26	65.30%	74	36
Robbie Bosco, 1983-85	149.39	8,400	8.43	63.99%	66	36
John Walsh, 1991-94	147.60	8,390	8.60	60.25%	66	35
Gifford Nielsen, 1975-77	145.23	5,830	8.24	58.62%	55	29
Ryan Hancock, 1992	143.17	2,586	8.98	57.29%	17	13
John Beck, 2003-06	141.29	11,021	7.77	62.41%	79	34
Kevin Feterick, 1996-99	141.05	8,065	8.05	61.18%	53	26

Some might argue, Hall's success is largely due to having BYU's greatest WR (Austin Collie), TE (Dennis Pitta) and RB (Harvey Unga) as targets for the past couple seasons. But Detmer had Eric Drage and Chris Smith. Young had Gordon Hudson. Essentially that's a hard argument to make because as good as these weapons were/are, Hall is part of the reason they've been so productive.

In attempting to rank these QB's, Hall has the numbers to objectively be ranked among the Top 10, if not the Top 5. Yet, others look at last season's let down and this year's loss to FSU and feel that Hall doesn't deserve to be so highly regarded by Cougar fans. In the end, it probably depends on what you feel a Top 5 QB at BYU demands.

What is your opinion?

Finally, Hall is coming off his most efficient game in 2009. His passer rating against UNLV was 201.8. Of course, that was against the Rebels. But, he was without McKay Jacobson as a target. Nine different players caught passes - and Unga wasn't even one of them. And Hall is expected to dominate again this weekend. However, possibly the most significant games to Hall's "prestige" or legacy at BYU are what follow thereafter. TCU. Utah. His third bowl game. Time will tell...

Poll

Do you approve of Max Hall’s body of work thus far in 2009? Where will he rank among all-time BYU quarterbacks?

No; But he still makes the Top 10

9 votes

Yes; Top 5

17 votes

Yes; Top 10

27 votes

No; And he doesn't even make the Top 10

3 votes

56 votes | Poll has closed

Dolphins dominate Bills: What they're saying a day later

Matty I — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:29:27 -0000

It's now been over 24 hours since the Dolphins dominated the Bills en route to their first win if 2009. There's been a lot written and said since then and I wanted to just highlight some of it. But first, incase you haven't heard, the Dolphins will bust out their orange jerseys on Monday night against the Jets. And yes, the Dolphins are undefeated (2-0) when wearing those gloriously ugly uniforms.

Now onto some talking points:

Don't go "Henne crazy" just yet
In his latest "Hyde Five" post, the Sun-Sentinel's Dave Hyde is quick to point out that we shouldn't "overdo Henne." Writes Hyde:

In his first start in 2007, on a cold November day at Philadelphia, John Beck completed nine of 22 passes for 109 yards. No touchdowns. No interceptions. No sacks. His running back was Jesse Chatman. His line was questionable. His leading receiver was rookie Ted Ginn Jr. (four catches, 52 yards, long of 22)

Considering Chad Henne had an extra year to get ready and a far superior supporting cast, his first start was similar to Beck’s: 14 of 22 for 115 yards, a touchdown and six sacks (two fumbles).

No one can get carried away with what he did in the 38-10 rout of a mystifyingly inept Buffalo team. You didn’t see anything new from this offense under Henne. Nor did you see any play that gave a glimpse of what he can be.

Hyde's feelings basically mirror mine on the situation. He goes on to write that Henne did "manage a good game" and "did everything he was asked." But let's be honest for a second - Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, and Miami's defense won Sunday's game - not Chad Henne.

But please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not bashing Henne. In fact, I'm complimenting him. The gameplan heading into Sunday's game was clear. The Dolphins were not going to ask Chad Henne to win them that game. But Henne could have lost them the game. Any young, inexperienced quarterback can lose you a game (just ask the Jets). To his credit, Henne never made the costly mistake. But now we have to see how he progresses and when the coaches begin to take the training wheels off of their young quarterback.

On a side note, like Hyde points out above, we can't forget that Chad Henne fumbled the ball twice on Sunday. If that was Trent Green, Cleo Lemon, John Beck, or Chad Pennington back there fumbling twice, many fans would be on his case. But I don't hear anyone killing Henne for his fumbles. But a 28 point win over a division rival tends to do that. Let's just hope he protects the football better in the future.

Offensive line needs to get better fast
I'm obviously not talking about the unit's ability to run block - they continue to get better and better every week. But their pass protection clearly needs work - and fast. The Jets come to town on Monday night with their "blitz all day, every day" mentality. The Dolphins, of course, are well aware:

Center Jake Grove and his fellow offensive linemen will have to be especially alert to Ryan's exotic fronts.

"They blitz almost every play it seems like; they're bringing guys from everywhere," Grove said Monday, a day after the Dolphins (1-3) dominated Buffalo 38-10.

"We're going to have to be great at identifying the fronts, seeing where the blitzers are and keeping our quarterback up, something we didn't do yesterday."

Almost lost in Sunday's rout were the six sacks by Buffalo. It was the most sacks by a Dolphins opponent since New England had seven while winning 28-7 in December 2007.

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said Buffalo didn't do anything out of the ordinary on defense. He blamed his interior linemen for three sacks and said two were because of missed blocks, one by tight end Anthony Fasano and one by running back Ronnie Brown. Sparano said Henne held the ball too long on one sack.

"It goes to back to self-inflicted things," Sparano said, referring to the mistakes that led to an 0-3 start. "This isn't someone doing something to you; that is a one-on-one matchup that you did not win."

Unlike the Bills, the Jets will take an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to the pass rush. That strategy has been one of the keys to New York's surprising 3-1 start with Ryan in his first season as a head coach.

Entering Sunday's 24-10 loss at New Orleans, New York had sent added pressure 62.4 percent of the time, according to statistics compiled by ESPN. The NFL average through three games was 35.6 percent.

"They bring the heat," Dolphins guard Justin Smiley said. "It's going to be a great test for us."

Sparano makes it a point to talk about how these errors that resulted in surrendering six sacks to Buffalo were "self-inflicted" and were just "one-on-one matchups that you didn't win." But is that a good thing or a bad thing?

On one hand, it's good that it's not a scheme-related or recognition-related problem. On the other hand, it's just a case of the Dolphins linemen getting beat man to man - and by players who aren't as talented as the ones they'll face on Monday night.

Without a doubt, Miami's pass protection will be one of the most critical aspects to Monday's game. The Jets get after the quarterback play after play - and will welcome back their best pass rusher, Calvin Pace, now that he has served his four game suspension.

What will be interesting is how the Dolphins adjust their protections - if at all.

Wake needs more snaps
The Palm Beach Post's Brian Biggane brings up the obvious question following Cameron Wake's three-sack performance against the Bills. Writes Biggane:

With Joey Porter out of the lineup due to his ongoing hamstring problem, Wake got an opportunity for more playing time and made the most of it, amassing 21/2 sacks as the Miami defense consistently put pressure on Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards.

You just know Porter is going to be back for the huge game against the New York Jets next Monday night, so where does that leave Wake?

Regardless, Wake seems to have earned the right to move ahead of Charlie Anderson on the depth chart. The Dolphins need to harass Mark Sanchez as much as possible; Sanchez had a fumble in his own end zone recovered for a touchdown Sunday. Even though Jason Taylor came on late and played well Sunday, Wake has the quickness (and youth) that neither Taylor nor Porter any longer possess. He needs to play.

Brian sums up the issue pretty well. In a nutshell, how do the Dolphins go about getting enough snaps for their three top pass-rushers?

I'd expect a rotation of some sort, keeping the veterans fresh and getting Wake more reps on the field. But one intriguing idea that I've been itching to see come to fruition is having all three on the field at one time in obvious passing situations.

Here's how you do it. You put Jason Taylor and Cameron Wake at the defensive end spots with their hand in the ground - Wake on the strong side and Taylor on the weak side - in a four down linemen formation. Then you let Joey Porter stand in a two-point stance on either side and you rush five guys - the four linemen and Porter. In behind you have either Channing Crowder and five defensive backs (nickel) or no linebacker and six defensive backs (dime).

It's worth a shot - in my opinion.

Quick Note
Phillip Merling's ankle injury is reportedly not as serious as originally believed. That's good news for sure.

NFL Preview: Former BYU Cougars

sroufe — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:42:32 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh greets former BYU quarterback John Beck (12) as he comes back to the sideline after a first half touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during their exhibition NFL football game Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Browse more photos »

With the 2009 NFL season kicking off tonight in Pittsburgh, it's appropriate to provide a brief preview covering former Cougars playing professionally. There are currently 12 former BYU players on NFL rosters, including rookie WR Austin Collie who finished second on the Indianapolis Colts in receptions during the preseason with eight catches for 69 yards. Two former Cougars should also be playing tonight however in Chris Hoke and Brett Keisel, veterans and long-time Pittsburgh Steelers. (Not a coincidence that last season's champions rostered three BYU alums - the most in the NFL.)

Other players of note include John Beck (reunited with Cam Cameron, the former Miami Head Coach who drafted him) in Baltimore. Beck is QB Joe Flacco's backup along with Troy Smith. Interestingly, Todd Watkins has made the Raiders' roster after struggling to make teams in Arizona and Atlanta. (Of course, his speed certainly didn't hurt his chances with Al Davis' obsession. See: Heyward-Bey, Darrius)

Former BYU linebackers Bryan Kehl (Giants) and Brady Poppinga (Packers) should see a lot of action this season. Last but not least, Fahu Tahi (who signed an offer sheet to return to the Bengals this offseason, but had the offer matched by the Vikings) will get a chance to block for not only Adrian Peterson, but Brett Favre as well.

After the jump is a comprehensive list of those currently playing professionally, their years spent at BYU, and their current teams. Who will you be paying the most attention to this season?

NFL

(2004, 2007-08) Austin Collie, WR, Indianapolis Colts (Rookie)
(2004-05) Todd Watkins, WR, Oakland Raiders
(2003-06) John Beck, QB, Baltimore Ravens
(2003-06) Daniel Coats, TE, Cincinnati Bengals
(2002, 2005-07) Bryan Kehl, LB, New York Giants
(2001-04) Brady Poppinga, LB, Green Bay Packers
(2001-04) Aaron Francisco, S, Indianapolis Colts
(2001-04) John Denney, LS, Miami Dolphins
(1999, 2003-05) Fahu Tahi, FB, Minnesota Vikings
(1998, 2000-01) Brett Keisel, DE, Pittsburgh Steelers
(1998-01) Ryan Denney, DE, Buffalo Bills
(1997-00) Chris Hoke, DT, Pittsburgh Steelers

Free Agents

(2006-08) Travis Bright, OG (Dallas Cowboys) (Rookie 2009)
(2006-08) David Oswald, OT (St. Louis Rams) (Rookie 2009)
(2006-07) Kelly Poppinga, LB (Arizona Cardinals)
(2005-08) Ray Feinga, OG (San Diego Chargers) (Rookie 2009)
(2005-08) Dallas Reynolds, OG (Philadelphia Eagles) (Rookie 2009)
(2003, 2006-08) David Nixon, LB (Oakland Raiders) (Rookie 2009)
(2003, 2006-08) Fui Vakapuna, FB (Cincinnati Bengals) (Rookie 2009)
(2005-06) Jonny Harline, TE (Cleveland Browns)
(2004-06) Cameron Jensen, LB (Seattle Seahawks)
(2004-06) Zac Collie, WR (Philadelphia Eagles)
(2002-04, 2006) Curtis Brown, RB (Oakland Raiders)
(2002-04) Shaun Nua, DE (Pittsburgh Steelers)
(2002-04) Scott Young, OG (Cleveland Browns)
(2000-03) Scott Jackson, OG (Houston Texans)
(1998, 2001-02) Reno Mahe, RB (Philadelphia Eagles)
(1996-98) John Tait, OT (Chicago Bears)
(1993, 1997-99) Rob Morris, LB (Indianapolis Colts)

CFL

(2005-06) Aaron Wagner, LB, Saskatchewan Roughriders
(1997, 2000-01) Ben Archibald, OG, Calgary Stampeders (New Orleans Saints)
(1996-97) Ben Cahoon, WR, Montreal Alouettes
(1996-97) Omarr Morgan, CB, Saskatchewan Roughriders (St. Louis Rams)

UFL

(2000-03) Colby Bockwoldt, LB, Florida Tuskers (Cleveland Browns)

AFL

(2003-06) Jake Kuresa, OT, Utah Blaze (New Orleans Saints)

(Should there be any errors or additions please feel free to correct me in the comments below.)

Ravens 53 Man Roster: My Picks

Bruce Raffel — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:00:24 -0000

Here are my picks for what the Ravens will end up doing later today when they announce the 53 man roster that they will be trimming down to when they release 22 guys to get down to the NFL max.

Offense

QB: Joe Flacco, Troy Smith, John Beck

WR: Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams, Kelley Washington, Justin Harper

RB: Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, LeRon McClain, Jalen Parmele

TE: Todd Heap, L.J. Smith, Davon Drew, Edgar Jones

OL: Matt Birk, Ben Grubbs, Jared Gaither, Chris Chester, Marshal Yanda, Michael Oher, David Hale, Oniel Cousins

Defense

DB: Ed Reed, Dawan Landry, Fabian Washington, Domonique Foxworth, Haruki Nakamura, Tom Zbikowski, Chris Carr, Lardarius Webb, Frank Walker, Derrick Martin

LB: Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Jarret Johnson, Tavares Gooden, Jameel McClain, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Paul Kruger, Prescott Burgess, Antwan Barnes

DL: Haloti Ngata, Trevor Pryce, Justin Bannan, Kelly Gregg, Dwan Edwards, Brandon McKinney

Specialists

P: Sam Koch

PK: Steven Hauschka

LS: Matt Katula

That’s only 52 guys and my final spot is a tough one to decide upon. I am looking at one of the following guys:

Yamon Figurs, Jason Cook, Jason Phillips, Joe Reitz, Kelly Talavou

Figurs still has the speed and with Webb looking a bit shaky on returns, Yamon gives us another option behind Chris Carr. Jason Cook gives us another fullback along with LeRon McClain. Jason Phillips was a 4^th round draft pick in 2009 and Ozzie doesn’t like to release draft picks. Perhaps Phillips will be IR’d to keep our hands on him (I expect the Ravens to IR undrafted rookie LB Dannell Ellerbe as well). Joe Reitz gives us more depth on the offensive line as well as Kelly Tavalou does the same for the defensive line.

I don’t want to take the easy way out by only selecting 52 players, so I will have to go out on a limb and make my selection and therefore the 53^rd spot on the Baltimore Ravens roster goes to Yamon Figurs.

The other players I was undecided about go onto our Practice Squad, where we can have up to eight players. Of course, I would expect the team to peruse other teams’ cuts to add a player or two to either our roster or Practice Squad, and vice versa for the rest of the league. However, in advance of that info, my Practice Squad would look like this:

Cook, Reitz, Talavou, Foster, Riley, Peerman, Smolko, Stallings

Additionally, as I stated earlier, the team would place both Dannell Ellerbe and Jason Phillips on Injured Reserve (IR), which would end their 2009 seasons, but ensure the team retains their rights while giving the players their full 2009 salaries, which do count against the team’s salary cap. However, being rookies, that should not be much of an issue.

Your thoughts and comments on those last few slots?

Ravens Dominate Again: Finish Pre-Season 4-0

Bruce Raffel — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:14:41 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

3 months ago: Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh greets quarterback John Beck (12) as he comes back to the sideline after a first half touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during their exhibition NFL football game Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Browse more photos »

The Baltimore Ravens completed their 2009 exhibition season 4-0, by dominating the Atlanta Falcons with their reserves most of the game 20-3. Last time the Ravens went undefeated in pre-season was before the 2000 Super Bowl season.

To many of the fans, this was an incredibly meaningless and boring game. However, to the knowledgable fan, this was as important a game as there was for the team as a whole. While most of the starters were on the sidelines, the reserves were fighting for their NFL careers, hoping to make that one last impression that would convince the team's Front Office that they deserve a spot on the Ravens roster.

The Ravens must cut 22 of their 75 players to get down to the NFL maximum of 53 players by tomorrow afternoon. Almost one-third of this roster will be looking for either new teams or new jobs by late Saturday. Can you imagine the stress and fear going through some of the players on the so-called "bubble?" One moment, they are on the world's stage, being treated like royalty with a big salary, great benefits and teammates and the next moment they are returning to the factories and local supermarkets in their hometowns looking for a full time job that many of them are not even qualified to do.

This is the toughest time of the year for the Front Office personnel. Telling a player that his dream job is being ripped from his heart has to be one depressing deed to complete, much less 22 times in one afternoon. I feel for Head Coach John Harbugh and his staff on the tough decisions, much less the notification of the unlucky players. On the other hand, there will be a few surprises so the fear and disappointment of one player could be muted by the joy and aspirations of another who gets told he did indeed make the squad.

However, that's all happening tomorrow. Today is a time to exalt the efforts that the team made in their victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Our second team offense moved down the field and scored on its first possession against the Falcons' first team defense. Our deeper reserves bullied and pushed the Falcons' reserves all over the field and while it was not exactly pretty nor efficient at times, the final score showed the complete domination on both sides of the ball.

Third string QB John Beck played his most minutes and best of the pre-season, with the time to get into a rhythm, hitting on 16 of 28 passes for 232 yards, two TD's and no interceptions, with a 108.0 QB rating. The running backs did their part and there is going to be a tough decision as it appears that only one out of Jalen Parmale, Cedric Peerman and FB Jason Cook is going to make the squad.

At wide receiver, Justin Harper continues to frustrate both the team and himself, dropping two long balls after getting open on deep routes. At the same time, Eron Riley caught the passes thrown in his direction, a long ball plus a TD reception, but even that might not be enough to secure a spot for him. Little guys Jayson Foster and Yamon Figurs didn't do anything to help their causes either.

At linebacker, there are so many decisions to make and to me theyare all easy as the entire group deserves to stay on the team. That won't happen and while Jameel McClain and Tavares Gooden are locks, Antwan Barnes, Prescott Burgess, Danell Ellerbe, Jason Phillips and William VanDeSteeg are probably fighting for just two remaining spots between them. Since we didn't see the rookie Ellerbe in the game, I am hoping the team retains their rights to him by placing him on Injured Reserve to secure him for next year.

The defensive backs did relatively nothing to change the coaches opinions about their roles on the team. Evan Oglesby had a nice hit but still figures to be a long shot, and Frank Walker was,..well Frank Walker. Two penalties on one play epitomizes his style of play, which is grab and hold and hope the refs don't flag him, which they usually do. For wahtever reason, the team seems to like him but he has done nothing to prove his value to the fans this pre-season.

Once again, another great win despite the meaningless part of pre-season being wins and losses. The coaches now have to seclude themselves in the headquarters to make their final decisions by tomorrow afternoon. Post your thoughts here on what you saw and what you think will happen tomorrow when roster cuts are announced.

Until then, bring on the Kansas City Chiefs!

Falcons And Ravens Recap: The Pre-Season Is Over

Dave the Falconer — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:00:37 -0000

by Dave Martin - AP

John Beck escaping pressure was an all too common sight Thursday night. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

View full size photo »

In all my years here at The Falcoholic, there has never been a game that has made me feel less emotional. It was hard to feel happiness or real anger following this game, probably a combination of it being pre-season action and a pretty thoroughly dull contest.

Despite the apathy this game instilled in me, several people sealed their fates Thursday for better or for worse. It's pretty clear how our wide receiver depth chart is going to shake out at this point, I think, and the competition for the third quarterback slot was all but decided by the play on the field. Our defense managed its best Jekyll and Hyde impression, managing to look hideous and wonderful, sometimes in the span of the same play. It was, compared to the nail-biter against San Diego last week, as uninspiring a game as they come. But it did make a difference.

Join me in welcoming the warm glow of the regular season, and then let's break this down.

HIGHLIGHTS

I'm an unapologetic Shockley defender, and I have been since he was drafted. If not for his injury, I firmly believe he would have drawn a few starts following the departure of Michael Vick. Alas, poor Shock is not long for this team, as John Parker Wilson played a solid, average sort of game while Shockley imploded. JPW had one fumble--and he was moving around a lot thanks to the second-team offensive line--but otherwise played a cautious, mistake-free game of football. He doesn't have the physical tools of Shockley, but he's a game manager and could be groomed to be the backup someday. I fully expect him to win the job.
Thomas Brown made a strong case for a roster spot, running pretty well on 11 carries and fielding a pair of kick returns capably. If there's one position where the Falcons are likely to load up, it would be running back, so Brown stands a pretty good chance of surviving the final cuts.
Three receivers made strong cases to stay with the team. Eric Weems had a couple of nice grabs and looked, once again, good in the return game, and he'd make a pretty terrific fifth receiver option because of his special teams value. Chandler Williams looked amazing on kick returns, and special teams is definitely his calling card. Meanwhile, Marty Booker looked good enough again to win a spot low on the depth chart, but offers no special team value. It might not matter much, but I'd prefer keeping Weems and Williams because they're younger and more versatile.
Keith Zinger should be the third tight end. Sorry, Jason Rader, but Zinger looked plenty capable Thursday night while making a couple of grabs and throwing a couple of key blocks.
Remember when I told you Peria Jerry was going to be just fine. Well, just call me the Oracle at Delphi, because I totally nailed that one. With a sack, constant pressure on John Beck and four tackles, Jerry looks to be getting better in a hurry and is a lock to line up with the starters against the Miami Dolphins. With the need for a pass rush still quite pressing, he's going to have value right away.
Speaking of value, Kroy Biermann illustrated his by looking pretty monstrous out there. Honorable mention goes to perpetually unappreciated end Jamaal Anderson, who after a shaky start managed to not look like the total bust many have already written him off as. If Anderson's getting motivated and Biermann can keep that motor running, this pass rush suddenly looks much improved even with Lawrence Sidbury drawing a ton of playing time.
To keep my habit of searching for the positive in the secondary going, Chris Owens did force a fumble. High five, Chris!

LOWLIGHTS

With the starters in, Mike Mularkey's offense isn't going to look that boring, but it's worth mentioning that the Falcons weren't exactly moving at a great clip against the Ravens. Part of that is undoubtably due to their defense, but you can't totally ignore the fact that our playcalling is a little predictable at time. That goes doubly for Brian VanGorder, who can no longer escape notice as the defensive coordinator for a team that has allowed second-and-third string quarterbacks to throw more than ninjas at a shuriken convention. Part of it is personnel, but I would really like to take a critical look at the packages being called and see if our guys are being put in a position to succeed.
The secondary portion of this more or less writes itself. We have got to start seeing more out of this unit. I don't want to judge too much based on pre-season, but it's all I have to go on and I'm starting to get legitimately worried about it. Chris Houston is a nice dude and he's clearly got the talent, but something is going on that is causing him to not be in the right place at the right time, and that could haunt this team something fierce come Week 1. I'll be interested to see whether Mike Smith and Thomas Dimitroff will push the guys hard and stand pat or if there's another signing on the way.
It's one play, but Ferguson's end zone drop of a nice JPW pass probably dropped him below Weems and Booker in the pecking order for a roster spot. The fact that Williams and Weems got all the special team action doesn't say much, either. I wish him well.
I've already mentioned this, but obviously Shockley needed a good game to save his roster spot and wasn't able to deliver. I really hope he gets another shot in this league if he does end up on the cut list.

THE WRAPUP

Game MVP: I've got to hand this one to Peria Jerry. In a game that featured grinding action, Jerry ground more than anybody, and he's a grounded individual. Ground ground ground.

Game Theme Song: The gentle snoring of a fan who has, with a half-full beer in his hand and his Falcons hat tipped down over his forehead, fallen asleep in the wake of that game.

One Thing To Take Away: This team is improving and this team has a much clearer roster picture, but the defense still must improve.

Next Week: We'll be up against the Miami Dolphins in our first regular season game, and it should be a very entertaining contest all the way around, as they're a young team with a few question marks on defense and a pretty talented offense. Check out The Phinsider for more about next week's game.

Final Word: Notwithabangbutawhimper.

Ravens Training Camp: Monday AM Edition

Bruce Raffel — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:55:12 -0000

Well it's great to be back in sweltering Westminster, Maryland, watching our Baltimore Ravens prepare for their second pre season contest as well as the 2009 regular season, and hopefully beyond! After a week in sunny Negril, Jamaica, the return to the typical dog days of summer here in Baltimore is a huge difference. The players are sweating and probably losing lots of weight out there, and the training staff is all over the place with fluids and towels for them.

It is another "plus-30" day, meaning the players over the age of 30 have the day off again. Of course, as always, there's Matt Birk in shorts, mentoring the "kids" on his offensive line. There are a few new faces to me in camp. In addition to the signing of QB Cleo Lemon, the team has brought back previously released QB Drew Willy, giving the team five QB's in camp. Injured thrid stringer John Beck is here and is dressed and participating, so I wonder why there are so many of them? The is a new wide receiver, Bradon Godfrey (6'3", 197 lbs.), an undrafted rookie out of Utah, who played there with Ravens second round pick, Paul Kruger, albeit on the other side of the ball. Godfrey has a jersey with a number, but no name on the back yet.

In 11-on-11 drils, Troy Smith goes right for the new guy, Godfrey, but Lardarius Webb breaks up the pass. Safety Tom Zbikowski bangs Justin Harper on a crossing pattern. On the very next play, Harper beats the cornerback but drops a ball that hits him right in the hands for waht should have been an easy catch. Justin's drops on easy passes is getting to be a concern, although he seems to make the difficult catches that impress everyone. He'll need to be more consistent though, in order to move up the depth chart.

Joe Flacco throws a sweet long bomb to Kelley Washington for what appears to be a 75 yard TD reception. The offense then puts a little wrinkle into their formation with RT Michael Oher in motion over next to LT Jared Gaither. However, rather than running the ball, Flacco throws a quick hit to J. Harper with Oher rushing over to lead the blocking. Yes, Oher is as fast as they say he is!

Troy Smith his the new guy, Godfrey over the middle. Troy is taking charge out there, yelling at Godfrey for inadvertantly going in motion causing a procedure penalty, but then patiently explains the play to him afterwards.

Smith's 10 yard pass to Eron Riley is completed but then he is pancaked by safety Dawan Landry. Kelley Washington continues to impress, with a short five yard sideline catch, where he is quickly tackled by Frank Walker and Domonique Foxworth. On two successive plays, Flacco hits Washington in the numbers over the middle but Kelley bobbles and drops it and then comes right back for a completion in the same area on the next play. Washington then makes a great diving sideline grab, tiptoe-ing out of bounds for a first down. He plays to the applauding fans by posing and signaling a first down before giving the fans a smile and a "thumbs-up!"

It's field goal time now. Steven Hauschka lines up for a 35 yarder, but the fake is on and holder/punter Sam Koch hits Edgar Jones for a TD pass. Hauschka then proceeds to hit from 35 and 41 yards, but surprisingly misses from 46, 52 and 58 yards, hitting the crossbar on the last attempt. In his turn, Graham Gano splits the uprights from 35, 41, 46, 52 and 58 yards. The final kick hit the left upright and went through, but would have been good from much longer as it hit halfway up on the upright.

Troy throws compete to Bradon Godfrey on the sideline, prompting Frank Walker to yell at the ref, " you gotta call that," referring to Bradon alledgedly pushing off. WR Eron Riley goes up real high to snag a sideline pass before falling out of bounds. John Beck gets in on the action, hitting rookie TE Davon Drew over the middle behind defenders for a nice gain. Drew has a great opportunity on this team and needs to step up and make himself shine during camp, which he just has not done so far. Cleo Lemon hits Godfrey for a short gain and it seems like the QB's are noticing that he holds onto the ball real well and are making the effort to get the ball to him.

Kelley Washington again makes a reception over the middle, beating Lardarius Webb. Webb gets yelled at by the coaches, "Webb, don't let him do that!"

Smith sets up in the pocket, looks right and then calmly throws complete to his left to Ernie Wheelwright. It's comforting to see a confident backup to Flacco, if indeed he is needed to step up.

Back to 11-on-11 drills, where Haloti Ngata rushes Flacco and knocks down a pass, then getting in Joe's grill before Flacco playfully pushes him away.

Good news! T-Sizzle is on rthe sidlines in shorts and a t-shirt, but no boot on his foot and seems to be walking, at least, without any limp. In his absence as well as the other "plus-30" guys, rookie Paul Kruger is running with the first team and looking good.

Wiilis McGahee makes a nice run as the practice comes to a close. He puts his shoulder into LB Prescott Brugess who tackles him but afterwards is laying on the sidelines favoring his wrapped left thigh. He gets up and seems to be be fine, though.

Are You Watching Max Hall Closely?

sroufe — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:30:51 -0000

"Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge." The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't."

Max Hall's sophomore season, replacing the graduated John Beck, was decent. Statistically, he finished with a passer rating of 137.7, a completion percentage of 60.1% and a touchdown/interception ratio of 2.17. In terms of comparison to other BYU quarterbacks a Beck comparison is probably the most fair because of time proximity. Beck's passer rating as a sophomore was a less than stellar 128.5. Of course, Hall was blessed with a better overall supporting cast. (Beck's second season was Gary Crowton's last, as BYU finished 5-6.)

In 2007 the Hall-led Cougars won the MWC for a second consecutive season and finished ranked 14^th in the polls after squeaking past UCLA in the Vegas Bowl. Quite an accomplishment for a sophomore QB despite having a team with numerous starters from the stellar team the year prior. Hall was replacing the school's second all-time passing yardage leader (behind only Detmer of course) and was hit hard consistently - especially early in the season - due to an inconsistent offensive line and an oft-injured fullback (Fui Vakapuna).

Certainly a 137.7 passer rating isn't anything to get real excited about. But Hall did show a few things in his first season. Interestingly, Marc Wilson's career passer rating at BYU (1977-79) was just 137.2. Another QB in that area was Gary Sheide (138.8 from 1973-74). So Hall looked like a competent quarterback, which is really all we really could have expected from a guy's first year at the helm - even one as old as Hall who had already served a mission and transferred from ASU.

"The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled."

Last year, Hall's junior year, there was major improvement. Early it looked like the Cougars might have something really special. Prior to the final two games of 2008 - against Utah and Arizona - Hall had an incredible passer rating of 169.95. To give you an idea, if Hall had maintained that rating he would have finished 5^th in the nation behind only Bradford, David Johnson, McCoy and Tebow. Pretty sweet company. Hall also had a terrific completion percentage of 71.5% and a fantastic touchdown/interception ratio of 4.25. But he couldn't hold on. I'm not going to revisit the disaster in SLC - but Hall finished the year with a solid QB rating of 156.9 (good enough for 13^th overall - and still better than Matthew Stafford and Brian Johnson).

A big part of Hall's success was of course the improved play of a veteran offensive line (plus the addition of Matt Reynolds), a healthy Vakapuna, more experienced targets in Unga, Reed and Pitta - and an out of his mind Austin Collie. The 2008 consensus on Hall is that he had the tools and demeanor to handle the lowly Washington and Wyomings - but not an upper echelon defensive scheme like those of the 2008 Utes and Horned Frogs. Hall, now with a BYU career 147.1 QB rating, again showed that he could be one of the better quarterbacks to pass through Provo - not in the Detmer, McMahon category, but certainly comparable to Robbie Bosco (career 149.4 passer rating) or even perhaps a less-mobile Steve Young (career 149.8 passer rating).

"But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call ‘The Prestige.'"

This is how Max Hall currently stands in the BYU record books:

QB Rating - 147.1 ... 8^th overall
Passing Yards - 7,805 ... 7^th overall
Completion % - 64.5% ... 3^rd overall
Touchdowns - 61 ... Tied-6^th overall
TD/Int. Ratio - 2.35 ... 3^rd overall

Okay. His QB rating is in the middle of the pack. However, if Hall were to duplicate the exact numbers from 2008 (156.9 rating), he'd finish his BYU career with a 150.33 QB rating. That would place Hall as 5^th all-time, behind only Detmer, Sarkisian (two seasons), McMahon, and Brandon Doman (only one full season as starter). Also, if Hall were to equal his numbers from last season he'd finish 2^nd all-time in passing yards (just ahead of Beck - 11,762 to 11,021) and 2^nd all-time in touchdown passes.

In other words, as long as he stays healthy, Max Hall will put himself high up there in the books. His legacy however will not hinge on statistics...it will center on wins and championships. That is where Zac's criticism truly lies - and rightfully so. Hall should compare favorably to Beck and others numbers wise. But Beck, under Mendenhall of course, brought the Cougars out of the Crowton-led drought and had two colossal wins: 1) the 2006 win over Utah in SLC (Harline catch), with Beck finishing with 375 yards passing and 4 TD's; and 2)the 2006 Vegas bowl win over Oregon (38-8), the school's first bowl win since 1996.

So there it is. If Hall is going to be looked on positively in the future he'll probably have to win another bowl game and/or win another conference championship. Then I'll talk about how I was in the south end-zone for the 4^th and 18 play when Hall connected with Collie down the sideline in the 4^th quarter against the Utes, (with Unga quickly scoring the would be game winning TD thereafter). Right now that play is still memorable, but with a strong 2009 Hall will bolster his bid to become one of BYU's all-time elite. If this year's team loses games to OU, FSU, TCU and loses another bowl game, in my estimation Hall will not be nearly as highly regarded despite having superb numbers. Still, here's to hoping that he does perform well and that the Cougars can be in the national spotlight once again - it might take a bit of magic, but stranger things have happened.

Maybe it's early, but what do you think is Max Hall's ceiling in terms of BYU quarterback history? His floor? What kind of season do you expect from him in 2009? What about the Oklahoma game in particular - can he do well on a big stage?

Photos via media.photobucket.com/image/the%20prestige%20top%20hats/AVoo/gerg.png and da3047.k12.sd.us

Ravens Training Camp: Wednesday AM Edition

Bruce Raffel — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:56:26 -0000

Today at the Baltimore Ravens Training Camp, it's obviously another "plus-30" day, which means all players over the age of 30 have the day off. Only center Matt Birk is around the fields, dressed in shorts.

In passing drills, the QB's are throwing long soft tosses to the WR's, while the OL is drilling one-on-one with the linebackers. LT Jared Gaither is going up against rookie LB Paul Kruger and is throwing him around. Oniel Cousins, whose role should expand significantly with the loss of Adam Terry for the season, is holding his own. Here is a nice matchup, 1st round draft pick, RT Michael Oher, versus 2nd round draft pick, Kruger. Oher is winning this battle, but is not dominating Kruger the way that Gaither was.

Click on the "Jump" for reports of 11-on-11 drills:

In 11-on11 drills, QB Joe Flacco swings a pass to Ray Rice, who hustles downfield for a nice gain. Next he hits Demetrius Williams over the middle on a quick hit in front of Frank Walker. A handoff up the middle to FB LeRon McClain nets a couple of yards at most. Flacco throws a screen pass to McClain in the flat that fooled the defense as Joe looked them to his right before throwing left.

Note: In Ed Reed's absence, Haruki Nakamura is teamed up at safety with Dawan Landry for the 1st team defense.

Troy Smith runs a bootleg but is met in the backfield by LB Paul Kruger. 3rd string QB John Beck completes a long pass down the sidelines to WR Justin Harper but it is caught five yards out of bounds.

Interestingly, the offense is now running three complete groups simultaneously moving downfield play-by-play at the 30, 50 and 30 yards lines. They keep moving until they run out of field, turn around and do the same thing the opposite direction, and it all looks very efficient.

Back to 11-on-11 drills: Long pass incomplete to D-Will, broken up by Frank Walker, and Williams stays on the ground for a few moments and gets up slowly. As the practice continues, he looks fine so no worries. Troy Smith's pass over the middle to WR Ernie Wheelwright glances off his fingertips and is picked by Derrick Martin. One of the better all around plays of the day has Nakamura blitzing up the middle but he is picked up nicely by Ray Rice, giving Flacco the time to find D-Will over the middle for a completion, even though he was guarded closely by Domonique Foxworth.

The kicking competition is still neck-and-neck, with Graham Gano hitting from 51 yards and Steven Hauschka from 45 yards. Hauschka then lined up with the kicking team and consecutively nailed his attempts from 28, 32, 40, 45, 50 and finally 55 yards. This competition will obviously go down to the wire.