You Thought The Brewer Mailbox Questions Are Bad...

NFL personal guru Gil Brandt answered a few questions on NFL.com. This one was pretty sweet:

Steven, TORONTO 12:15 PM ET
What do you think of the idea of the CFL All stars playing the NFL All stars at the Pro Bowl?

Gil Brandt, NFL.com
Hi Steven. At one time the CFL had a lot of good players and that would be interesting. But the talent level of the CFL has really dropped off considerably. So I don't think it would work.

There was a time -- back in the 1950s -- that the NFL changed the date of the draft because they were worried about the CFL coming in and signing top college talent. That was a long time ago.

It's an utterly ridiculous question, but let's roll with it.

1) Canadian Football, while intriguingly goofy, isn't even AAA of the NFL. It's maybe AA Southern League quality using baseball terms. Maybe.

2) What rules would they use? I'd like to see the Bears scrounge up a 6th receiver (or 3rd, 4th, or 5th, for that matter) to throw on the field using CFL rules. And imagine some crappy CB from North Saskatchewan Tech try covering Larry Fitzgerald after he gets the pre-snap running head start! (Note: Two sources - Goldy and Train - are at least 90% confident this is legal in the CFL.)

3) Does Canada even have flights to Hawaii? Airplanes? Just kidding, I love Canada.

4) If they use NFL rules, would the CFL have to coax Doug Flutie out of retirement? Warren Moon?

Here's a question Train and I couldn't answer. Do Canadian high schools play football? If so, do they play CFL style? San Diego drafted a guy from Western Ontario University this year. Do they play CFL style? Any Canadian Hackers with answers out there?

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Oh, and an answer to a different question caught my eye....

Eric, Bucks County 12:10 PM ET
If you owned a franchise who would you name as general manager and head coach? Who would you want as your quarterback?

Gil Brandt, NFL.com
Hi Eric. Well, I probably would want Bill Belichick as my head coach. I think I would want Ted Thompson of Green Bay as my general manager, and Peyton Manning as my quarterback.

High Schools Now Prohibit Creativity

This pisses me off. The National Federation of State High School Associations has closed the scrimmage kick formation "loophole," essentially killing the A-11 offense. What the f_ck is he talking about?

Background: A couple years ago, the Piedmont (CA) HS football coach got to thinkin'. You see, Piedmont (800 enrollment) routinely got rolled by league opponents who's enrollments were double their own. Playing straight-up, smash mouth football just wasn't working. Enter the A-11. I'll let the New York Times describe the formation:

By placing one of the quarterbacks at least seven yards behind the line of scrimmage, and no one under center to receive the snap, the A-11 qualifies as a scrimmage kick formation — the alignments used for punts and extra points. Thus interior linemen are granted an exception from having to wear jersey numbers 50 through 79. (The exception was intended to allow a team’s deep snapper not to have to switch to a lineman’s jersey if he was a back or an end.) Any player wearing jersey numbers 1 through 49 and 80 through 99 is potentially eligible to receive a pass.

Piedmont’s basic A-11 formation calls for a center flanked by two guards, who are essentially tight ends. Two quarterbacks, or a quarterback and a running back, line up behind the center, with three receivers split to each side.

Under football rules, seven players must begin each play on the line of scrimmage and only five are permitted to run downfield to receive a pass — the two players at the end of the line and three situated behind the line. The difficult task for a team defending against the A-11 is to quickly and accurately figure out who those five eligible receivers are.

Prior to each Piedmont play, only the center initially goes to the line of scrimmage. The two “guards” and the split receivers each stand one and a half yards off the line. Then, just before the ball is snapped, Piedmont shifts into formation for the signaled play. With this simple movement, the possibilities for eligible receivers become dizzying.

Personally, I think it's genius. I mean, the guy created an entire offense around a punt formation! It's especially great if you are physically "out-manned" because of enrollment or otherwise. This takes the larger school's defensive bigs off the field, at the same time saving your own bigs' effectiveness by not having them play both-ways.

Well, the NFHS called bullshit and closed the uniform number "loophole." They said:

"It was unethical for them to use a loophole in the rules to run this offense," said Mike Webb, the supervisor of football officials for the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission who is on the NFHS football rules committee. "This takes away the deception."

"Unethical?" Come on. They claim it's too hard to officiate, sort of like why the 'ol fumbleroosky was outlawed. I don't buy it. I think the powers-that-be were afraid that it looked too much like flag football or basketball on grass. What's wrong with some creativity, thinking outside the box, ahead of your time, or whatever phrase you want to use?

Maybe we should also eliminate the "Wildcat" formation and the triple-option. Too much deception.

Is This Legal?

Congrats to Jags RB Fred Taylor for his son getting 1st team All-State (Florida) honors. Big deal athletes churning out more athletes happens all the time, right? Yeah, but Taylor's kid is in 8th GRADE! Can you even play varsity in 8th grade? In Florida the answer is Yes:

Glades Day appealed to Taylor because of its academic reputation and because it offered a chance for Taylor to play varsity football as a middle-schooler for a program that two years ago won the Class 1A title. The Florida High School Athletic Association allows junior high students to participate in varsity sports when they attend school in the same building as the high-schoolers, which is the setup at Glades Day.

Hmmm. The only similar situation I know of was when Jesse Keller played middle linebacker on the Saukville Rebels 8th grade team as like a 3rd grader. It might have even been 2nd grade. No kidding - his old man was coach and Junior was a man-child. You know, one of those big, farm-tough kids who was twice a strong as everybody in 3rd grade combined. His jersey was retired by the Rebels and now enjoys wrestling steer in his spare time. I wish I was making this up - he has the scars to prove it. I like Jesse Keller, good guy.

Chuckie Hacks Outing?

Screw the Brewers tailgate next year...I say we road trip down to Chicago for a Lingerie Football League game!

I think I read something about this a while back, but this article has a little bit more detail. Feel free to peruse.

"Entertainment," says Jeff Bowen, president of the Sears Centre Arena, "and sports for that matter, too. The game is played with regular rules and the girls play seven-on-seven, full-tackle football."

In bras, panties, helmets, shoulder pads and garters.

Ummm...yeah...feel free to email me if you want to split season tickets.

Photo pulled from Daily Herald.

Wisconsin Football 2008 Preview

Chris Pressley, not mentioned in this preview even though he is a good FB and an exceptional team leader, blocks a useless Hawkeye during a big P.J. run last season. Thanks to Myles Long for the photo.

As the 2008 college football season gets ready to kick off tonight, I figure it is high time to post my outlook on the upcoming Badgers' football season. Thankfully, unlike Deadspin, which has gone to crap since Will Leitch left, this post will not be written by an Iowa fan. It will be written by a Wisconsin alum. Also hopefully Tyler Donovan's Mom will not stop by again like she did last year.

So, most of the pre-season polls and predictions have the Badgers ranked in the 10-15 range with a 2nd or 3rd place finish in the Big Ten. To be honest, I think this team has way too many questions to be ranked that high and challenge OSU for the Big Ten title. With the practices closed to the media this season, there is less pre-season info out there about the Badgers. Hopefully some good things happened during camp and they are ready to explode on the scene.

Last year the Badgers were ranked around #5 in the country coming in to the season and there was talk of a national title shot. They played poorly in the early games and were not able to pull away from the likes of UNLV or The Citadel. They lost a game at Illinois they easily could have won and then came out with one of the flattest performances I have ever seen at Penn State. They had the lead on OSU in the second half, but the piss poor D couldn't stop the Buckeyes. It was a decent season but could have been a lot better.

Coming in to this season there are several question marks on the starting roster and these players will have to step up for the Badgers to have a legit shot at the Big Ten title.

• QB - For those who remember, I was really hoping Allan Evridge would have won the QB job last year. He wasn't able to overtake Donovan, and Donovan, while tough, just couldn't make the throws. This year Evridge gets his chance. Not so much because he is a great QB that wowed the coaching staff in Spring and Fall practices, but because the guys behind him (Sherer, Tolzien) didn't look any better. Evridge is a Senior meaning next season, the Badgers will have their fourth QB in four years. Hopefully Curt Phillips can step up after red shirting this year and have a Bollinger type run. But this year is Evridge's year. He lost some weight in the off season, but is still a sturdy guy who can run. He didn't look great when he was in the games last season, but hopefully the confidence of being the starter is enough to spark Allan. He will need to be a legitimate passing threat to open up the ground game for Hill, Brown and Clay.
• Secondary: This is my biggest concern. The safeties were just brutal last season. Many people like to tout Shane Carter as something special, but I think the guy was just brutal last year. Sure, he had 7 picks, which is great, but the guy takes some of the worst angles when attempting to make a tackle that I have ever seen. Thing is, when he actually pursues correctly, his isn't a very sure tackler. Last season was his first season seeing extensive playing time in college, so hopefully the coaches worked with him on these weaknesses and he will be solid in the middle of the field this year. Aubrey Pleasant was the starting strong safety last year. He played like Carter, but without the INTs. Thus, it sounds like Jay Valai will be the starter this year. He is know for big hits. Lets just hope he knows how to cover as well. The corners are in bad shape right now because of injury. With Ike gone, Allen Langford and Aaron Henry, both coming off serious knee injuries, were set to be the starters. However, Henry, who the coaches feel will be a very good player, had a setback and another knee surgery a few weeks back. He hopes to be back by the Big Ten portion of the schedule. This means redshirt Freshman Mario Goins and little used to this point Niles Brinkley better be up to the task, because they are going to see a lot of playing time. I also worry about Langford because he was never known as a speedster and got by based on being a technically sound CB. If the injury has robbed him or any speed, he could get beat deep often.
• LBs: The linebacking crew was a disappointment last season, but much of that can be attributed to poor MLB play. Look for Jonathan Casillas, he of the punt block recovery in the Minnesota end zone of 2005, and DeAndre Levy to have solid seasons yet again. The key will be the play of new starter Javery McFadden at MLB. If he doesn't improve the play at the position and the safetys blow again this year, the Badgers will have a soft middle and it could be a long year.
• RBs: Hey, something positive! I thought P.J. Hill looked great in the bowl game last season. It looked like he made a statement that he was not going to give up his starting job without a fight. If, a big if, he can stay healthy all season, he could have a monster year. I know he gets knocked because of his injury history, but he has 2,800 yards in two seasons, 29 TDs and averages over 5 yards per carry. That is good stuff. People like to knock Hill, but he is a good all around back. Zach Brown showed last year that he could pick up the slack if needed. He rushed for 250 yards against the Gophers, but he looked to be missing that extra gear to finish off long runs. Hill has this gear, Brown is still looking for it. The wild card if Johnny Clay. He is a big dude with a ton of hype. If he can show something in the pre-Big Ten games, the three headed monster at RB could be something else.
• New Kickers: The Badgers will be welcoming in a new kicker and punter this season. Losing Melhaff will hurt. Not only was he a steady field goal kicker, but his ability to register touchbacks was huge. The kicking battle is still going on, as far as I can tell, between big legged redshirt Freshman Phillip Welch and consistent walk-on Junior Matt Fischer. Taking over the punting duties this year will be Freshman Brad Nortman. These guys are going to have to step up to replace two solid kickers. Poor kicking and punting can doom the field position game.
• WRs: I'll keep this short. Tons of potential. Minimal experience. Somebody is going to have to step up to help out Evridge and open up the field for the running game. This will be eased by the fact that you have a preseason AA at TE in Travis Beckum and another solid TE in Garrett Graham.
• Schedule: The Badgers open up with what should be two wins before heading out to Fresno for a season defining game. Win this game and it is a great springboard into the Big Ten season, proving the badgers are worthy of a Top 10 ranking. Lose and you are looking at another ho hum season. I know people like to bash the Badgers schedule, but how many BCs teams are willing to play at Fresno? Not too many. This is a huge game and could be one of the top 10 non conference games of the season, since good non conference games are few and far between. Wisconsin gets Penn State and OSU at home this season, but watch out for the game at MSU.

So, I am going to go with a 9-3 season. To many questions, in my mind to make a legit run at a Big Ten Title. I see a loss at Fresno, a loss to OSU and a loss at MSU.

No matter what, I am pretty excited college football kicks off tonight. Not that excited about he NFL this year, but the college football season has plenty to offer and crazy stuff usually happens. usually during those late night Pac 10 games on FSN. Anyhow, looking forward to a couple trips to Madison this fall and a yet to be determined roady. I've only seen one loss on the road and that was last tear at Illinois, so maybe I need to go to East Lansing this year to ensure a win.

On Wisconsin.

Javon Walker found unconscious

You know what's not a good game? The wake up off the strip in Vegas after being beat up and left on the side of the road game...

Our old pal Javon Walker was found freaking unconscious on the side of the road in Vegas. The police officer who was interviewed said he suffered "significant injuries."

Jesus Christ. The main question again, which you can say EVERY TIME you hear one of these "shake your head" type stories, is How does a guy with the kind of money Javon Walker have end up in that situation?

Speculate all you want. Anybody who is a Vegas regular knows that if he was off the strip, it means he was partaking in some extracurricular activities that he doesn't want anybody to see.

Trouble always seems to follow this guy. In any event, hopefully he fully recovers. It'll be interesting to see what these "significant injuries" are.

UPDATE:
Here's the Deadspin post with a slew of additional info...

Trying to Think Positive

Looking big picture, it was a good football season:

• The Packers had a season that exceeded everyone's expectations
• Favre was back at an MVP level
• The Bears were colossal disappointments
• Minnesota choked their way out of the playoffs - again
• The Cowboys melted down, Three Mile Island style
• Notre Dame went 3-9 and lost to Navy
• The BCS found a new way to piss off the masses
• Ohio State got boat raced in the title game once again

Congrats...Take This.

WTF is this thing anyway? Is it:

A) The George Halas NFC Championship Trophy?

B) The worlds biggest cigarette lighter?

C) A Seventh grade wood shop project gone bad?

D) Boba Fett's jockstrap?

E) A hood ornament from a 1953 Buick?

F) The 1800's version of Pong?

G) Other?

Did You Know...

I root for the underdog. The Mid Majors. The Small Markets. Screw the Yankees, Patriots, and Ohio State. Give me the Brewers, Royals, and Boise State any day of the week. I know USC would beat Boise 9 times out of 10, and the NFL draft is no different. The big boys dominate. Last year’s draft had 1 guy (Joe Staley, Central Michigan) from a non-BCS school selected in the first round. That said, you might be surprised at the number of players on the NFL All Pro team either from weak/non BCS schools. Let’s face it, North Carolina and Ole Miss are conference bottom feeders. Here’s the 2007 NFL All-Pro squad and where they went to school.

- OFFENSE -
QB – Tom Brady, Michigan
RB – LaDanian Tomlinson, TCU
RB – Brian Westbrook, Villanova
FB – Lorenzo Neal, Fresno State
WR – Randy Moss, Marshall
WR – Terrell Owens, UT-Chattanooga
TE – Jason Witten, Tennessee
T – Walter Jones, Florida State
T – Matt Light, Purdue
C – Jeff Saturday, North Carolina
G – Steve Hutchenson, Michigan
G – Alan Faneca, LSU
K – Rod Bironas, Georgia Southern
- DEFENSE -
DE – Jared Allen, Idaho State
DE – Patrick Kearney, Virginia
DT – Kevin Williams, Oklahoma State
DT – Albert Haynesworth, Tennessee
OLB – Demarcus Ware, Troy
OLB – Mike Vrabel, Ohio State
MLB – Patrick Willis, Ole Miss
MLB – Lofa Tatupu, USC
CB – Asante Samuel, Central Florida
CB – Antonio Cromarte, Florida State
S – Ed Reed, Miami
S – Bob Sanders, Iowa