Brett Greenwood Cruelly Denied Heisman Invite Yet Again
by Adam Jacobi on Dec 8, 2009 1:00 PM CST
in Football
58 comments
Okay, we shouldn't be taking shots at Brett Greenwood; Brett The Net was hardly a weak link in the Iowa defense this season. Old jokes die hard, I supposed. Anyhoo.
Heisman candidates were announced late Monday. They went with five nominees this year, and we could really see all five make a run at the trophy.
They are, in alphabetical order, Toby Gerhart, Mark Ingram, Colt McCoy, Ndamukong Suh, and Tim Tebow.
While noting the unusual fact that a freaking defensive tackle made the final five (full disclosure: if I had a vote, I'd pick Suh without reservation), Barking Carnival made this astute observation:
Interesting that 3 out of the 4 offensive candidates play on teams that owe most of their success this year to their defense.
We would slightly amend the BC statement to say "owe most of their team success," but the point's well-made as it stands. And look, while Mark Ingram was utterly phenomenal this season regardless of his defense, and while Florida and Texas owe an awful lot of the credit for their seasons' success to leaders like McCoy and Tebow, the fact remains that this was really a lousy season for the expected powers-that-should-have-been in college football. Sam Bradford imperiled his pro career by returning to Oklahoma, Tim Tebow took a massive step back in draftability, and Colt McCoy wouldn't be a front-runner for the Heisman if he'd won it last season; his stats have regressed from that ridiculous 2008 campaign.
We expect McCoy to win, even as he's not our choice (again, it's Suh, who's like the buttchild of Lee Roy Selmon, Warren Sapp, and Captain America). College football is still a heavily PR/media narrative-dominated sport, and there are a massive number of voters (especially east of the Missouri) who are going to look at Gerhart and Suh and instinctively dismiss them for reasons that are entirely independent of their play on the field. That's just the way of things in a popularity contest among 55-year-old men in the newspaper sports bubble.
So here's my ballot and expected finish:
MEIN
- Suh
- Ingram
- Gerhart
ZEITGEIST
- McCoy
- Ingram
- Tebow
Shame, really. You put 2009 McCoy or Ingram on, say, Nebraska, and I'm not sure how much better they play. You put Suh on a top 5 team, and he sets a new record for most Heisman votes received by a defensive player. He was utterly unreal, and Nebraska's inability to close out close games (VT, ISU, Texas: 3 losses, 4 points) is a truly unfair reason to penalize Suh and deny him the trophy.
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Coolest-sounding name, too.
That counts for a lot. By which I mean it counts for nothing. Which is bullshit.
Ndamukong means "House of Spears"
Suh means “most dominant and game-changing college football player this season.”
It’ll be a crying shame when he doesn’t win.
Brunettes not fighter jets
I think it'll be Ingram
Him tearing Florida apart while McCoy struggled against Nebraska pretty much sealed it, I think.
None of this changes the fact that the actual best player in college football this year was Suh by a fucking mile. It’s cool that he got an invite though.
And Stanzi would not have probably gotten hurt
Teams would so have had to respect Greene he’d probably be able to tie his shoes and have a beer before he’d actually NEED to look downfield and flick a TD pass. To the right guy.
"Wow. You know you have problems when even the cheerleaders know you suck." ~ Pain in the Sash
by Leftcoast Hawk on Dec 8, 2009 1:45 PM CST up reply actions
I was thinking about that last night
Now that the season is 95% over, we can look back with hindsight and see what Greene could have accomplished for this team.
No Das Pakibomb fumbling in the red zone vs. UNI. More T.O.P., grinding out the victories, etc. he put up more yards last year than either of this years’ RB candidates. If Gerhardt or Ingram win it, I will be horribly saddened knowing that this Heisman would ultimately have been Shonn’s.
by YouCanPutYourEddsInIt on Dec 8, 2009 1:48 PM CST up reply actions
RB Comparison
Gerhart (pre-bowl game):
311 att; 1,736 yards; 5.58 YPC; 26 TDs
Greene (pre-bowl game):
278 att; 1729 yds; 6.21 YPC; 17 TDs
Ingram (pre-bowl game):
249 att; 1,542 yds; 6.19 YPC; 15 TDs
Granted, Greene had 29 att; 121 yds; and 3 TDs in the Outback Bowl to finish at 307 carries for 1,850 yds, and 20 TDs on the year.
My point is, with the exception of YPC and TDs between Gerhart and Greene, they are eerily similar. I would not be saddened one bit if Gerhart won the Heisman after comparing the two, that would be an awfully hard decision for the voters to make between Greene and Gerhart this year. Now, if Ingram wins, I would be a bit disappointed, but he did have a hell of a performance when it really mattered this past Saturday.
They took the bar, the whole fucking bar!
by recoveringfratguy on Dec 8, 2009 2:07 PM CST up reply actions
And yet
Greene didn’t even get to wear a nice tie to the DAC with those numbers.
Brunettes not fighter jets
He had the misfortune of playing the same year that a bunch of QBs put up historic numbers
If he’d come back and put up the exact same numbers this year, I don’t think there’s any doubt that he’d have been a finalist.
Yep
That was a Goddamn travesty IMO. Although, the point about the season’s that the Nintendo 12’s QB’s had, combined with Our Lord and Savior, it isn’t a shock that Greene didn’t get the nod.
They took the bar, the whole fucking bar!
by recoveringfratguy on Dec 8, 2009 4:02 PM CST up reply actions
It'd have been cool
I think it’s possible he would have regressed a bit because the offensive line was a mess for a lot of the season, but I don’t doubt that he’d still have done very well and helped the team a ton.
He still made the right decision leaving early.
If only Jewel Hampton was healthy this season.
"The possibility of physical and mental collapse is now very real. No sympathy for the Devil, keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride." HST
Tebow and no Spiller?
I mean, come on.
"Andrew Jones....SEND IT IN, BIG FELLA!" - Bill Raftery, 4/2/09
Easy.
One is Tim Tebow. The other is not. One plays for Florida. The other doesn’t. it’s bullshit, but that’s the way it works.
Black and Gold Blood: Cubbie Blue Heart
Follow me on Twitter: @MattLaCasse
Ah...
it’s kinda like everyone voting for the “popular” kid in school. I thought that shit ended after graduation. I love college football, but I hate the bias bullshit that comes along with it!
"The possibility of physical and mental collapse is now very real. No sympathy for the Devil, keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride." HST
Couldn't agree more.
As OPS said, it’s all about who has the best PR campaign behind them. All you have to do is look to Joey Harrington a few years ago. Oregon was pimping him for Heisman before the season even STARTED! How can you possibly know who will be a Heisman candidate until after the first game at the bare minimum?!
It’s all ridiculous. If it were based on strictly performance, that would require the writers to, you know, actually FOLLOW the sport of college football, rather that just a few top teams.
Black and Gold Blood: Cubbie Blue Heart
Follow me on Twitter: @MattLaCasse
Could you imagine...
a writer from the South actually following a team from the North? Or, a writer out West paying attention to an East coast team? Writers actually trying to get the “big picture” in the grand scheme of things?
Who am I kidding?
Nobody wants to put any of their own thought into this process. Instead, we will keep getting our information from the “WWL.” After all, they know sports better than any of use who actually watch the damn games!
“Florida is the best team this season.”
Okay, we better rank them number one because the “WWL” said so.
“Tebow is the greatest player to ever step foot on a football field!”
Okay, let’s all vote for tebow because that is what the “experts” on that sports channel say.
"The possibility of physical and mental collapse is now very real. No sympathy for the Devil, keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride." HST
We have people like that
Orson from EDSBS and Doc Saturday for a couple. But yeah, they’re all bloggers
It never gets to be easy
by chitownhawkeye on Dec 8, 2009 4:22 PM CST up reply actions
In balance, the blogs are getting better than sports reporters
The problem is making a livin’ doing a blog.
"Wow. You know you have problems when even the cheerleaders know you suck." ~ Pain in the Sash
by Leftcoast Hawk on Dec 9, 2009 2:37 PM CST up reply actions
Some day the newspaper industry will collapse...
…and bloggers will replace the AP Poll. Unfortunately, the bloggers will all be Panterhawk-like in their choad-tacular-ness.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Dec 8, 2009 8:44 PM CST up reply actions
For what it's worth, most projections have Timmy as a pretty distant 5th
I’m pretty sure he’s getting invited mostly for TV ratings.
Ingram shouldn't get it
But after helping his team dominate Jesus and pals over the weekend he’s the media’s new adopted child. Gerhardt is the better RB and did more with less compared to Ingram. I do think that Suh is the best player in the country but defense never gets any respect from the media.
by Hank Thrasher on Dec 8, 2009 2:49 PM CST via mobile reply actions
In terms of offense, I'm not sure he did more with less
Gerhart’s QB was pretty good, which helped take a little pressure off of him. McElroy had a great SEC championship game, but he was shakey for a lot of the year. Ingram was playing behind a better o-line though, which is obviously really impotant.
Even if he did have more support, I think it gets balanced out a little by the fact that Ingram also was facing better defenses than Gerhart was. Gerhart never played against anything like the Florida defense that Ingram just got done tearing up.
I guess I forgot about the Pac10's defensive prowess
Or lack thereof. I was mostly taking into consideration the O-line he had to work with. He also seemed a bit inconsistent in some games such as Auburn a couple weeks ago.
by Hank Thrasher on Dec 8, 2009 3:45 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Mark Ingram should get it
just because I confuse him with James Ingram of Ya Mo B There fame. Unfortunately, there’s no relation. There should be.
Also because his dad was eventually apprehended in his underwear (they never leave that part out) in a Detroit hotel room after either failing to show or skipping out (too lazy, as always) and remains incarcerated. Still and all, by definition Suh is the most worthy. But, as reported ad nauseum by the wwl, did you know no Bama player has every won it? Apostasy!
If you're into crabby homers and their soaked kleenex pile
head over to OBNUG. The “KELLEN MOORE GOT SNUBBED” shitstorm is already in full force over there.
/O'keefe'd
by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Dec 8, 2009 3:51 PM CST reply actions
Ehhh. I made a few tissues wet over Shonn Greene last year, so can you blame them?
Read into that however you wish.
by YouCanPutYourEddsInIt on Dec 8, 2009 3:58 PM CST up reply actions
I suppose that's true
but when you’re putting up big numbers in a gimmick offense in a conference full of figurative punching bags, can you really get all that upset? I would say if you’re all for Moore, you better be all for Case Keenum.
/O'keefe'd
by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Dec 8, 2009 5:28 PM CST up reply actions
I for one am glad
that the David Klinglers of the world are no longer garnering consideration.
by Brock Sampson on Dec 8, 2009 5:35 PM CST up reply actions
Seems like recently, Houston is great...
Until about halfway through the season.
"Wow. You know you have problems when even the cheerleaders know you suck." ~ Pain in the Sash
by Leftcoast Hawk on Dec 9, 2009 2:38 PM CST up reply actions
Punching bags is generous
they played 40% of thier schedule against teams ranked 99th (out of 120) or worse and most of those teams played each other…meaning, someone HAD to win. They played four teams that couldn’t crack the 3 win mark. They played 3 teams ranked 110 or lower. Please…I am up sick and tired of the Boise talk that is out there because they run the Statue of Liberty and the Quad Reverse Pass with superior athletes against teams down 21 points in the 2nd quarter. TCU is another story completely.
"I think it's safe to say our concerns are many." -- Kirk Ferentz
Just curious.
Did the little shitstorm that the BSU fans inspired over here last week turn any other people against them? Personally, I like the Boise story — a single dominant team in a shitty conference that is looking for respect among the big boys. Then their fans came over, were a bunch of d-bags, and now I’m rooting for TCU to ass-pound them in the Fiesta Bowl. Is that just me?
by Abbas_Cincinnatus on Dec 9, 2009 9:22 AM CST up reply actions
The Panthers wear purple, I like UNI, therefore go TCU
Seems logical to me.
"Wow. You know you have problems when even the cheerleaders know you suck." ~ Pain in the Sash
by Leftcoast Hawk on Dec 9, 2009 2:39 PM CST up reply actions
I wasn't here for said shitstorm
Could someone post a link? TIA
"Andrew Jones....SEND IT IN, BIG FELLA!" - Bill Raftery, 4/2/09
by ReadingRambler on Dec 9, 2009 11:15 AM CST up reply actions
About that...
OPS eventually wound banning one of the douches, which subsequently eliminated half of the discussion. Which, frankly, is probably for the best.
I kinda liked Boise and cheering for the underdog
until their douchenozzle fans came over here and I wanted nothing more than to see Adrian Clayborn and company disembowel their prissy little offense. I guess we have to leave that task to TCU, who I think will shut them down pretty well but not in the same way we would have manhandled them.
by Hank Thrasher on Dec 9, 2009 3:27 PM CST up reply actions
Going into last weekend, it was McCoy's to lose
And I think his performance, coupled with Ingram’s means he did lose it. If I had a vote, my top 3 would read
1. Suh
2. Ingram
3. Spiller
Unfortunately, I don’t have a vote, so this is really just pissing in the wind. I think Ingram ends up with it, his game beating Jebow Christ plus the fact that no Alabama player has one a Heisman will combine to create the proper media narrative for why he’s deserving.
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
In a fair and unbaised sports world Suh would walk away with it...
But we all know that won’t happen. He has dominated all season and it was great to see him get a big stage Saturday and show everyone how good he really is. He may have locked up the #1 pick with that performance! Ingram most likely will walk away with it but he better thank his O line cuz they were the real MVP’s Saturday against Flordia. Mangino could’ve walked through some of those holes they made for him! I agree with the above order of the Heisman. How the fuck does Spiller get left out? They are already talking about retiring his # at Clemson!
What should be, and what will be
What should be: Suh, Spiller, Gerhart
What will be: Ingram, McCoy, Gerhart
If we are to believe these folks (and they've nailed it 7 years in a row)...
It’ll be Ingram, Gerhart, Suh, although Suh has the most 1st place votes so far.
I honestly think
that as the articles about Suh being the most deserving grow in number, and this seems to be happening exponentially, the better shot he has at winning. I would not be surprised whatsoever if come Saturday night he’s hoisting it up.
/O'keefe'd
by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Dec 8, 2009 8:02 PM CST up reply actions
That would be awesome
After accepting it, can he sack Tebow?
It never gets to be easy
by chitownhawkeye on Dec 8, 2009 9:04 PM CST up reply actions
Well, yeah, but votes are already in
I think he has a really good chance of winding up with the most 1st place votes and losing, just because some people are going to be too retarded to consider voting for a DT.
NO ONE
IN THE SOUTH will even vote fo Suh or Gerhart. When they show regional voting in the South it will be Ingram, Tebow and Snead or some shit. There will be numerous head scratchers listed after Ingram and God.
"I think it's safe to say our concerns are many." -- Kirk Ferentz
NOT TRUE
Actually, according to a site that tracks it, Suh is getting decent support in the South
The Northeast is what’s fucking him
I thought votes weren't in until Friday?
I’m not on the ball on this one, so I’ll take your word for it.
/O'keefe'd
by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Dec 8, 2009 11:16 PM CST up reply actions
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