Tag: College Football

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Football

Graham Mertz Deserves Better

Playing quarterback for the Wisconsin Badgers has to be one of the most stressful jobs in the world. Everyone knows Wisconsin loves to run the football, but we don’t fully commit to the run like the military academies do, so we ask our quarterbacks to throw the ball 15-20 times a game. In theory that seems like it should be an easy job, just fake a few handoffs and throw it to a tight end a few times a game. Wrong. There is so much more pressure on every pass, and that can’t be easy for a 19-23-year-old kid to have their every move on and off the field scrutinized.

In the modern era of Badger football, we have had a plethora of average quarterbacks, with a singular outstanding season from Russell Wilson thrown in the mix. So when fans heard that Graham Mertz, a 4-5 star recruit from Kansas, was coming to Madison, they immediately touted him as the savior. And it started out as good as anyone could have drawn up. Coming out and torching Illinois in his first start as a redshirt freshman gave Wisconsin so much hope. But then Covid decimated that season and we never saw Mertz get into a proper rhythm. Then the next two years he was not asked to do much and would struggle when he was asked to throw. A lot of that is playcalling and the situations the coaching staff put him in.

Throughout it all, the media was not kind to Mertz, but he would go up to the podium and say the right things with his head held high, but was still hated. I think Mertz is still talented, but Wisconsin was not the place for him. I am happy that he entered the transfer portal after the coaching change, and I hope we see him go to a smaller school, preferably in a small conference like the MAC. Michigan State legend Rocky Lombardi followed this blueprint after three meh seasons at MSU, and Mertz should do the same. Getting to go and sling the rock at a small school and show off his arm in case he still wants to play at the next level is the best thing for him. He deserves to fly under the radar in his last two years of eligibility and I hope nothing but the best for a fellow Badger.

Categories
Betting Football

This Fantasy Football Season in Wedding Crasher Quotes

  • “You shut your mouth when you’re talking to me!”
    • This is what Allen Robinson owners are saying to the so-called experts who told them to draft A-Rob over Amon-Ra.
  • “I know it doesn’t feel like it but we’re making progress.”
    • Dereck Henry hasn’t had a trademark Dereck Henry game yet, but he has been much better the past two weeks and is starting to look faster and the Titans have another game this week against a bad Commanders Defense.
  • “Sandbagging son of a bitch!”
    • Mike Tomlin was holding George Pickens hostage under the QB play of Mitch Trubisky for the first three weeks. When Kenny Pickett got put in the game we saw what everyone saw from Pickens in camp and preseason. Head coaches love nothing more than sandbagging when it comes to talented rookie QB’s that could be franchise guys. Look at Justin Herbert, Pat Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and even Baker Mayfield. All of them were forced to sit out seasons, or part of seasons when they gave their teams a better chance of winning.
  • “Tatoo on the lower back? Might as well be a bullseye.”
    • “Established starting QB with proven rushing upside in the 6th round? Might as well be a bullseye.” Guys who took Jalen Hurts in one QB leagues after the first wave of QBs are feeling like real geniuses right now after his first four weeks that have him as QB3.
  • “Erroneous! Erroneous on both counts!”
    • People ignoring the warning signs of drafting Zeke. Backup who is clearly better? Clearly doesn’t have the same burst. Erroneous on both counts.
  • “I happen to know everything there is to know about maple syrup.”
    • I happen to know everything there is to know about drafting receivers first. Number one target in elite offenses, less risk of injury, safer picks. If only Jonathon Taylor wasn’t so damn good people would have universally taken Justin Jefferson 1st.
  • “Grow up Peter Pan. Count Chocula.”
    • This isn’t 2007. You can survive on elite receiver play and have only one reliable running back. Injuries exist and waivers and trades are your best friend. Grow up and move on from LaDainian Tomlinson’s 2003 season.
  • “Rule 76 no excuses play like a champion.”
    • Even if you drafted Kyle Pitts in the 3rd round, or have dealt with injuries. Hunt the waivers and trade market and find the next Jeff Wilson or Romeo Doubbs. Or blackmail the idiot in your league and get their WR1 for two borderline flexes!
  • “Hello, Red.”
    • Hello Andy Dalton and thank you for being better than Jameis and allowing the Saint’s skill positions to produce.
  • “Make me a bicycle clown!”
    • Give Kyle Pitts a red zone target Arthur Smith you clown.
  • “We gotta get outta here, we got a stage five clinger.”
    • Anyone who picked Clyde Edwards Helaire has to trade him while they still can. He is not even the lead running back on the Chiefs. He has only had 50% or more of the snap share once this season and relying on a short running back to continue to get goal line receiving touchdowns is very risky. Get out while his value is high.
  • “Crabcakes and football! That’s what Maryland does!”
    • Cooper Kupp and Matt Stafford connecting for 10 completions for 100 yards. That’s what the Rams do and we were crazy for thinking their success last year wouldn’t be repeated.
  • “It wouldn’t kill you to play some competitive sports, Todd.”
    • This is surely what Tom Brady is saying to his receivers who refuse to all be healthy at the same time and allow Brady to look like the Brady of years past.
  • “Nature Vs. nurture. And nature always wins.”
    • Mid to late-round rookie WRs vs veterans who might give you eight points on a bye week. The rookies always win. Thank you Chris Olave, Drake London, and hopefully now George Pickens. Jalen Tolbert, I hate your guts.
  • “Why don’t you try getting jacked off under the table in front of the whole damn family. Have some real problems, jackass.”
    • Try being the guy who has to decide which TE to stream everyweek, and have some real problems, jackass.
  • “I hope you flip your bike over and knock out your two front teeth out, you selfish son of a bitch.”
    • Every league seems to have the guy that hit the running back lottery, and now has Jamaal Williams and Jeff Wilson sitting on their bench. To you my friend, I hope to see you in the dentist office sooner than later.
  • “The painting was a gift Todd, I’m taking it with me.”
    • To the guy who threw Chris Olave into a trade as a filler after week one, no you cannot have him back now that the red rifle is leading the Saints to the promise land.
  • “I’m reading don’t kill myself books.”
    • Anyone who gambled on the unknown that was Trey Lance almost immediately regretted it after a tough performance in a monsoon against the Bears, then a season-ending injury the next week. They likely have one of these books in their amazon cart.
  • “What an idiot! OHHH what a loser!!”
    • Can’t have a crasher’s article without the iconic Chaz Reinhold making an appearance on the list. This is anyone who drafted Amon-Ra referring to anyone who drafted Diontae Johnson ahead of the star in Detroit. All the signs were there last year. How could we all be such idiots and losers?
Categories
Football

Chryst Was Not the Problem or the Solution for Wisconsin

As a lifelong Badger fan who was born and raised in the great Green Bay, Wisconsin, I have seen the same brand of football for too many years. The DNA of the team has been to control the clock by running the ball and fielding an elite defense year after year, but what happens when we cannot run the ball and do not have an elite defense? We lose to out-of-conference teams at home, Big Ten teams at home, and get blown out by Ohio State. All that happened within the first five weeks of the season, and the University decided it was time for a coaching change.

Paul Chryst was a good hire back in 2015 and helped the Badgers win a lot of games during his tenure, but nothing he was doing was original, and that is not all his fault.

Barry Alvarez helped turn Wisconsin back into a formidable football program, but when he stopped coaching, he became even more involved in the program as he became the AD. You could still see his imprint on the way the Badgers play, and in my mind, because he pressured all the coaches to coach like him and call plays like he did in his time. And mostly Wisconsin has gotten away with it, mainly thanks to the ridiculous offensive line play, talented running backs, and elite defenses.

Chryst’s first two years gave the program hope, as even without a superstar RB we were able to finish 10-3 and 11-3 respectively. Play calling that first year was even bordering on creative, as we would run the wildcat here and there with the 2-way legend Tanner McEvoy. Then 2016 Chryst had the help of some bum on defense named TJ and the 2nd ranked defense in the country. Then the next three years felt like a bit of a blur but saw more success. This was largely due to the emergence of once-in-a-generation talent who goes by the name of Jonathon Taylor. Three years of the best running back in the nation can cover up a lot of issues elsewhere on and off the field.

In the past two years and change, we have gotten to see what Chryst can do without the help of Jonathon Taylor, and it has not been up to the standard that now surrounds the Wisconsin program. Moving on from Chryst to Jim Leonard is the move that fans have been calling for, and let’s see if he can deliver.

He is a youthful spark that can hopefully speak to younger recruits and convince the Wisconsin recruits to stay home and swing recruits from outside the state to come to Madison.

Most importantly, Barry Alvarez is no longer the AD, and if Jim Leonard has the final say over what goes on, I would not be shocked to see a change in identity on the offensive side of the ball in the coming seasons.