Big 10 Report: Conference Realignment

[Mr. Laz]

A source in St. Louis familiar with the situation told NewsCenter 16 Thursday afternoon that Missouri will leave the Big XII and soon join the Big 10. Other schools expected to follow the Tigers are Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers and Nebraska.

Many have speculated that such an expansion would include Notre Dame but ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick told me today that the Irish prefer to stay independent in football and in the Big East for other sports. Swarbrick said maintaining football Independence is such a part of what Notre Dame is.

He went on to say the Big East is a great partner for the University in other sports.

"We do have to monitor what is going on," Swarbrick said. "There will be significant shifts. "Hopefully we can navigate them by keeping our football independent and keeping our Big East affiliation because that is what we care about."

The move of Syracuse, Pitt and Rutgers to the Big Ten from the Big East could categorically change the landscape of the Big East itself. Thus, what Swarbrick is referring to when stating the University must continue to monitor what is going on.

The interview with Swarbrick was done before the late afternoon announcement.

http://www.wndu.com/sports/headlines/92447574.html

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Oh, well if Rivals calls the guy with 170 rushing yards over the entire season a Dual Threat QB, it must be true.

Dj'sdumbass knows more about Zac Lee then Rivals. Amazing.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by billay

I never said Lee was better than Gabbert. I simply asked what games would Gabbert have won that Lee didn't. Dj's dumbass said Texas and I listed facts. Gabbert with a better offense only scored 7 points vs Texas.

They would have won 3 more games.

NU would have beat VT. They would have beat ISU, and they would have beat Texas. Other than that, Zac Lee was the man.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by billay

How many points did Gabbert score vs Texas with a better offense?

You honestly think Gabbert wouldn't have played better that night than Lee did?

For what it's worth, while hobbled, the kid had a 50% completion percentage, threw a TD and threw 0 picks for a QB rating almost 100 pts higher than your boy.

You know it's true. You guys go to a BCS game last season had Pinkel not stolen your QB.

I don't expect you to admit it because you're a homer. But you still look like a damn reerun for arguing otherwise.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

They would have won 3 more games.

NU would have beat VT. They would have beat ISU, and they would have beat Texas. Other than that, Zac Lee was the man.

Gabbert would have made Helu's shoulder healthy and the Nebraska offense wouldn't have fumbled it 5 times in the red zone?

And Gabbert only scored 7 points with a better offense vs Texas.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

You honestly think Gabbert wouldn't have played better that night than Lee did?

For what it's worth, while hobbled, the kid had a 50% completion percentage, threw a TD and threw 0 picks for a QB rating almost 100 pts higher than your boy.

You know it's true. You guys go to a BCS game last season had Pinkel not stolen your QB.

I don't expect you to admit it because you're a homer. But you still look like a damn reerun for arguing otherwise.

so Gabberts excuse for not doing shit was a bad ankle but Zac Lees torn elbow didn't mean anything?

This is hilarious. BTW did you even watch the Nebraska/Texas game?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by billay

I never said Lee was better than Gabbert. I simply asked what games would Gabbert have won that Lee didn't. Dj's dumbass said Texas and I listed facts. Gabbert with a better offense only scored 7 points vs Texas.

Gabbert on 1 leg and in 2 quarters scored a TD and threw no picks.

If Lee would've done the same, Nebraska wins that game in a walk.

Instead Lee completed nearly as many passes to Texas DBs as he did Nub pass-catchers...and y'all lost by 1 point.

There's not a Nub fan in this thread that's going to come to your aid here. Your only hope is that KnowMo suddenly becomes a Husker fan and will show up with some mindless homer juice to back you up.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Bill Self: "No disrespect to those schools, but (the league) got better."

.

Did he flip off "Dr." Tom for good measure?

[BWillie]

Man, I can't wait until football season. KU is going to suck, but anything other than last place will be gravy. I predict Iowa will lose 4 games, because they always screw the pooch when they are preseason circa Top 10.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by billay

Dj'sdumbass knows more about Zac Lee then Rivals. Amazing.

Originally Posted by Scouting report on Ryan Leaf

Sunday, April 5th 1998, 2:04AM

DREW BLEDSOE was the last quarterback taken first overall in the NFL draft. That was five years ago. Brett Favre is the only quarterback drafted in the '90s to win the Super Bowl. And he didn't even do it for the team that picked him.

The '90s has not been The Decade of The Quarterback.

Tennessee's Peyton Manning and Washington State's Ryan Leaf have a chance to change that. They will go 1-2, or 2-1, in the April 18 draft to the Colts and Chargers, two bad teams.

So who is better? Manning vs. Leaf is the hot debate of this year's draft.

In the last three weeks, the Daily News polled a coach, GM or personnel director from 25 teams. The question: If you had the first pick, would you take Manning or Leaf? An overwhelming 20 said they would take Manning, three went for Leaf and two declined to give an opinion.

"If there is a more impressive guy in the country than Peyton Manning, I would be shocked," Bucs coach Tony Dungy said.

Bills GM John Butler would take Leaf. "He takes some hits and can buy extra time with his exceptional strength," he said. "He can look off people and get it done. You like the big, strong guys. It's a tough game where you take a lot of punishment."

Some of those picking Manning said they were just more familiar with him than Leaf. The bottom line: Manning may be the best-prepared quarterback to ever come into the NFL. He absorbed football through his father, Archie, and has a coach's understanding of the game. He's the safe pick with big-game experience and has a better chance to have success right away than Leaf.

Leaf is more physically imposing with a better arm; he's unshakable in the pocket, an aggressive, confident player who may have more long-term upside than Manning. Both, though, could be starters as rookies.

"It's probably a situation where you can't go wrong with either guy," said Steelers personnel director Tom Donahoe, who would take Manning. "They both look like quarterbacks you can build a team around."

But only the Colts have to figure it out. They conducted workouts last week with Manning and Leaf and now have 13 days to make their decision. "I like them both," new Colts coach Jim Mora said. "They are both going to be good players in the NFL."

Mora, the former Saints coach, has a connection to the Manning family. Archie Manning was a Saints radio announcer during Mora's years in New Orleans and Peyton Manning used to visit training camp and throw the ball around when he was a kid.

Meanwhile, Colts president Bill Polian, who inherited Jim Kelly in Buffalo and drafted Kerry Collins in Carolina, has had success with the big, strong QBs, and that's Leaf. Neither Mora nor Polian, however, have said which QB they will take. They might not even know yet.

Chargers GM Bobby Beathard, who paid a big price to move up from third to second to insure getting Manning or Leaf, said he'll be happy with whoever the Colts leave for him.

A year ago, Manning passed up the opportunity to become the foundation of Bill Parcells' rebuilding job with the Jets. Now he could wind up in Indianapolis, which lost its first 10 games last year before finishing 3-13.

The Chargers lost their last eight games and finished 4-12.

Of course, having the right quarterback in place can expedite any rebuilding.

In 1989, Troy Aikman was the first pick overall by the woebegone Cowboys, who went 1-15 that season. But by Aikman's fourth season, he helped start a streak of three Super Bowl titles in four years.

Bledsoe and Rick Mirer, in 1993, were the last QBs to go 1-2 in the draft the first time quarterbacks were the first two picks since 1971, when Jim Plunkett went to the Patriots and then Archie Manning to the Saints. Bledsoe has been to the Super Bowl; Mirer has been a bust.

"(Leaf) has some remarkable talents," said Bledsoe, who also played at Washington State. "He's probably not as polished as Peyton at this point. At the same time, give him a couple of years in the league, and he will do some special things."

Leaf and Manning are both 6-5. Leaf surprised NFL people when he checked in at a hefty 261 pounds at the scouting combine in February, one month after playing in the Rose Bowl. But in his recent workouts he's been at 244, right around his playing weight. Manning is 230.

Manning is a cerebral, Bernie Kosar-like QB, yet more athletic than the former Browns star. Manning does not have the arm strength of Leaf, but is more accurate. Leaf is an absolute rock; his toughness has been compared with Jim Kelly. Manning has more experience: Including bowl games, he threw 1,505 passes in college. Leaf, who gave up his last year of eligibility, threw 880.

"I've studied them quite a bit. I would take Peyton," Vikings coach Dennis Green said. "I think he brings a great knowledge of the game . . . he brings the whole package."

Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson, whose family is friends with Leaf, says, "I think he will be a great player in the NFL and one of the future stars in the league."

Manning or Leaf? The Colts will soon answer that question. But it will take until the next century to find out if they were right.


Joel Buchsbaum, draft expert and the author of Pro Football Weekly's 1998 Draft Preview, compares Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf:

Accuracy: Manning

Arm strength, velocity: Leaf

Leadership, huddle command: Manning

Learning ability: Even

Mobility, ability to escape the rush, ability to run for positive yards, and to throw with tacklers on him: Leaf

Setup quickness, release quickness, footwork and technique: Manning

Size and stature: Leaf

Timing, touch: Manning

I still say that Ryan Leaf sucks because I've seen him play and I'm judging him after the fact, but I wouldn't want you to accuse me of thinking I know more than NFL scouts.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by billay

so Gabberts excuse for not doing shit was a bad ankle but Zac Lees torn elbow didn't mean anything?

This is hilarious. BTW did you even watch the Nebraska/Texas game?

He threw 3 picks and 0 TDs.

He was abysmal. He had a worse game than Gabbert had at any point all season.

And again - Gabbert didn't need an excuse. His 'not doing shit' was one hell of a lot better than Lee's 'doing a whole lot of damage to his own squad'. You don't need an excuse when you win the competition. There's simply no comparison between Gabbert and Lee. Gabbert didn't have a game at any point throughout the season that was anywhere near as bad as the game Lee played against Texas. In fact, he played a better game against Texas than Lee did.

Lee killed his team. Absolutely destroyed it in that game.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Gabbert on 1 leg and in 2 quarters scored a TD and threw no picks.

If Lee would've done the same, Nebraska wins that game in a walk.

Instead Lee completed nearly as many passes to Texas DBs as he did Nub pass-catchers...and y'all lost by 1 point.

There's not a Nub fan in this thread that's going to come to your aid here. Your only hope is that KnowMo suddenly becomes a Husker fan and will show up with some mindless homer juice to back you up.

Do you speak English? If you think the loss to Texas was all Lee's fault you're an idiot. Sure Lee played bad but so did the offense as a whole. Even so he was able to put together a drive to get Nebraska ahead with 2 minutes left.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

He threw 3 picks and 0 TDs.

He was abysmal. He had a worse game than Gabbert had at any point all season.

And again - Gabbert didn't need an excuse. His 'not doing shit' was one hell of a lot better than Lee's 'doing a whole lot of damage to his own squad'. You don't need an excuse when you win the competition. There's simply no comparison between Gabbert and Lee. Gabbert didn't have a game at any point throughout the season that was anywhere near as bad as the game Lee played against Texas. In fact, he played a better game against Texas than Lee did.

Lee killed his team. Absolutely destroyed it in that game.

Ok so you admit you didn't watch the game.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

He threw 3 picks and 0 TDs.

He was abysmal. He had a worse game than Gabbert had at any point all season.

And again - Gabbert didn't need an excuse. His 'not doing shit' was one hell of a lot better than Lee's 'doing a whole lot of damage to his own squad'. You don't need an excuse when you win the competition. There's simply no comparison between Gabbert and Lee. Gabbert didn't have a game at any point throughout the season that was anywhere near as bad as the game Lee played against Texas. In fact, he played a better game against Texas than Lee did.

Lee killed his team. Absolutely destroyed it in that game.

I already said Gabbert was a better QB. I also said the only game he would have made a difference was the Va Tech game.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by billay

Do you speak English? If you think the loss to Texas was all Lee's fault you're an idiot. Sure Lee played bad but so did the offense as a whole. Even so he was able to put together a drive to get Nebraska ahead with 2 minutes left.

All Lee's fault? No

Would have won with the most physically gifted QB in the country? Yes

[Sam Hall]

Let's just say Zac Lee isn't a perfect fit for what Nebraska is trying to run.