The Worm Has Turned

In the world of football driven college athletic conferences, a reality check takes place on an almost monthly basis. Just as the furor and excitement over the "Catholic Seven" schools breaking away from the Big East had subsided, Boise St. Univ. threw another gallon of gasoline on the fire by announcing that they would stay put in the Mountain West. The Broncos had been scheduled to depart the MWC and join the Big East in 2013. The departure of the seven basketball-only schools, apparently gave Boise St. cause to reconsider.

While common sense dictated that they stay in the Mountain West, it could cost the Broncos dearly to break away from a league that they were never a part of. The Big East, which has turned collecting exit fees into a cottage industry, claims that Boise St. owes them $10 million for reneging on their deal. The Mountain West and Boise St. put that figure at $5 million with the league willing to kick in a portion of the penalty. Let's just call it the $5 million dollar mistake and sweep it under the rug, we've all done that at some point.

In a world where loyalty, tradition and fair play have gone out the window, the MWC pulled a dirty trick straight out of  Big East commissioner  Mike Aresco's bag 'o tricks, they bribed Boise St. to reconsider their move. What's good for the goose.... The Big East's lack of scruples has turned on them, potential member schools are awakening to the fact that Mike Aresco is nothing more than the Bernie Madoff of college football, running a Ponzi scheme on those naive hicks out west. Turns out those potato farmers aren't as dumb as they seem.

The Broncos negotiated a provision that applies only to Boise St., among its MWC peers, allowing the Broncos to negotiate their own TV deal for all home games. They will also work with the MWC to land a television contract that's inclusive of all member schools. Money from the deal goes to the league and then is distributed back to Boise St. and other league members in a bonus plan. The bonuses factor in the network that carries the games and whether the games are broadcast on Saturdays or not.

The MWC also agreed to split 50/50 with any league team, the revenue paid for making it to a BCS bowl game. Reports from CBS Sports have that amount pegged at between $2 or $3.5 million dollars. It's win-win for all involved, The Mountain West is much more attractive to the networks with Boise St. as a member. That should keep the second tier of MWC schools happy for awhile, and if they're not happy, what are their options? For their part, The Big East claimed that they worked hard to keep Boise State on board, but that ultimately the Broncos called their bluff and they flinched.

Let's back this up just a tad, here's the timeline of events that led Boise St. to seek a better deal closer to home.  Mike Aresco's skills as a conference killer are starting to rival those of Karl Benson (WAC, Sun Belt) but this latest round started with the Big Ten adding Maryland and Rutgers as members. This led to the domino effect of the ACC plucking Louisville from the Big East, which resulted in Aresco inviting East Carolina (football only) & Tulane(all sports) to join the Big East. As it turned out, the Comish overplayed his hand. 

East Carolina made sense from a football standpoint, Tulane on the other hand, as a full member did not. (although road trips to NOLA would be fun) That proved to be the final straw for the basketball only schools that had helped build the Big East into a hoops power conference. Of all the schools scheduled to join the Big East, only two, Memphis & San Diego St. are competitive in basketball. The seven basketball only schools in the Big East had learned the hard way, that their legacy of hardwood achievement be damned, football was now in the driver's seat.  

Villanova, Georgetown, St. John's, DePaul, Marquette, Providence and Seton Hall banded together and announced that they were breaking away from the football playing Big East Schools. This set in place a pending legal battle, which is in the preliminary stages, of deciding how to split up millions in NCAA tournament revenue and exit fees. Also to be settled is which faction will get to use the name "Big East" The name has always been synonymous with excellence in basketball, not so much so in football. The football schools should start brainstorming for a new league name. 

Weighing on Mike Aresco is the lack of a television contract and the fact that in 2014,  the Big East will be lumped in with the MWC, MAC, CUSA & Sun Belt for a bracket spot in the college football playoffs. In the eyes of the BCS & NCAA selection process, losing Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Louisville, West Virginia and possibly Cincinnati or UConn is more than enough to put the Big East on equal footing those supposedly "lesser" football associations. As the sixth rated football conference, the Big East has become the football equivalent of a "border state" during the Civil War. 

As the BSC raiders swooped down and made off with the goods, the Big East was reduced to doing the same.... to their unsuspecting neighbors to the west. As Malcolm X once stated "the chickens have come home to roost" Boise St's decision now puts San Diego St. on the clock. The low hanging fruit of the MWC is now out of reach for Aresco's Raiders, perhaps they should turn to the MAC, CUSA or the Sun Belt.... ouch!  San Diego St. has yet to make its move, though a clause in their contract allows them to back out if there's not another Big East school west of the Rocky Mountains.

The current Mountain West schools aren't the prettiest gals at the ball, but they do put out. I mean that in terms of commitment to their athletic programs & facilities. A scattering of big name coaches, a solid core of good coaching staffs and more talent than anyone outside the BCS top four, makes the MWC attractive, even without BYU, Utah or TCU.  The Horned Frogs were probably a shoo-in for a playoff spot every now and then, had they stayed in the MWC. As a Big 12 member, TCU will never (mark my words) garner a playoff berth (the same goes for Utah and BYU, ~snicker~ )

Greed and selfishness make you do silly things, not that Utah or TCU were in any position to say no when the PAC 12 and Big 12 came-a-calling. Which brings me to the subject of continued conference realignment. The Big 10 and ACC have raised the ante, the Big 12 and PAC 12 must follow suit or fall behind. Who gets the golden ticket?, Maryland & Rutgers hit the jackpot by unexpectedly landing in the Big Ten, could the same happen to New Mexico?  A recent post in BeaverBlitz.com, the website for Oregon St. athletics, brings up an interesting point.

The PAC 12 in all likelihood will have to expand by two more schools, assuming that Texas & Oklahoma are no longer in the mix... who would that be? BeaverBlitz.com has Hawaii at the top of their list, which makes sense geographically and who wouldn't like going to Hawaii several times a year? The next two schools on their list are long shots  Nevada & Boise St..., even in this day and age of football madness, The  PAC 12 still values its academic reputation. Nevada is little more than a glorified teacher's college and Boise St. is a community college with one bad ass football team. 

Next on the list is the Univ. of New Mexico. UNM is a solid academic institution, most folks don't realize that. UNM's academics are on par with Utah, Washington St. & Oregon St., though I won't pretend that they can match those of Cal-Berkeley, Stanford, Colorado, UCLA, USC, U-Dub or Oregon. Athletically, UNM's football program is laughable, but no more so than say Colorado or Washington St. New Mexico's basketball prowess and commitment is well documented as is their commitment to women's athletics and the so called Olympic sports.

San Diego St. would seem to be a sure shot, but the PAC 12 SoCal television market is already saturated, do they really need another Southern California school? The same goes for Fresno St. and San Jose St.  Other western schools such as Wyoming, Air Force & Utah St. don't fit the bill and UNLV is too fucking shady for the discerning tastes of the PAC 12 leadership.  What about BYU?, the powers that be in the PAC 12 have practically gone on record as saying that a religious based school would never be allowed in the league. 

It's that cold shoulder from the PAC 12 that has BYU pursuing membership in the Big 12. The Cougars would fit right in with the Baptists and Methodists. The Big 12 faces a steeper climb to fourteen schools, seeing how they're only at 10 schools now. Barring lateral moves like Clemson or Florida St. jumping from the ACC to the Big 12, the lucky four could include, Houston, SMU, Rice, BYU, Memphis or Cincinnatti. Some schools like (UConn, UCF & Southern Miss) could get squeezed out, their best bet would be to re-join CUSA or the Sun Belt. (apparently, the MAC is immune to all this madness) 

Just days before Boise St. dropped the bomb on the Big East, rumors were circulating that BYU was in the process of putting together a new conference, that would include Boise St., BYU, Colorado St., New Mexico and god knows who else. With Louisville gone, plus Cincinnati and UConn looking for a way out, the Big East made a desperate bid to remain solvent by reaching out to Fresno St.and  UNLV.... they were rebuffed. After Boise St. made its plans official, MWC commissioner Craig Thompson (flush with a victor's glow) announced that the league would continue to hold talks with "several Western schools" (possibly Houston, SMU, Tulsa or BYU)

Thompson left us with the impression that the MWC was good to go with or without San Diego St.   SDSU, judging from the comments in the Union-Tribune and those of AD Jim Sterk would like to put some distance between themselves and the Mountain West. But without the Big East, the Aztecs are almost out of options.  As part of Boise State's contract with the Mountain West, the MWC must offer membership to San Diego State before any other school, but that doesn't mean the Aztecs are in. A MWC source told ESPN that "right now the votes are not there for SDSU to gain readmission to the MWC" 

The door slams shut for the Aztecs on Jan. 31st. MWC commissioner Craig Thompson claims that he's been in contact with Jim Sterk "every 20 minutes" when asked on the Tim Brando Show. GoAztecs.com no longer has the Big East logo on their website, and that's enough news to speculate that a return is likely to happen for San Diego State. Or is it?.... reports out of Colorado Springs & Albuquerque say that Thompson has been meeting with the BYU Cougars and that their return to the fold is imminent. 'Curiouser and curiouser!' indeed.

Left Nut Sports is a New Mexico based and New Mexico centric sports blog, so let's speculate on the future of the UNM Lobos. The PAC 12 expands, adding San Diego St. and New Mexico. One spot opens in the MWC, UTEP gets the nod. The Big 12 adds four schools... Houston, SMU, Cincinnati & BYU, this move effectively kills off the Big East, as the remaining schools in that league scramble to join either CUSA or the Sun Belt. New Mexico St. and Idaho land in CUSA, while Navy elects to remain an independent along with Notre Dame.

How would New Mexico fare in the PAC 12? On the gridiron they would suffer, on the hardwood they would prosper. New Mexico's women sports are strong and their minor men's sports such as golf, tennis, soccer, baseball and skiing are more than competitive. The move up would call for some major infrastructure upgrades especially in football. University Arena (the Pit) was recently renovated and Isotope's Park is a nice place for baseball games. UNM has an athletic budget that is equal to that of Washington St. and Utah, who bring up the rear in the PAC 12.

Stranger things have happened, who would have thought that either Rutgers or Maryland would be asked to join the Big 10? The entire issue of realignment probably won't go away until all five of the major conferences have at least 14 member schools. Television networks already are jockeying for position to negotiate with the seven Catholic basketball schools that ditched the Big East.   Butler and Xavier from the Atlantic 10 and Creighton from the Missouri Valley have been approached, which would  give the new conference 10 members.

Closer to home, the WAC is striving to continue on as a basketball only league.  The WAC needs at least seven basketball schools in order to keep its automatic bid. To this end they've added Grand Canyon Univ.,  a for-profit Christian university located in Phoenix, Az. Grand Canyon will be the first for-profit institution to compete in NCAA Division 1 sports. The school has had success at both the NAIA (National Champions in 1975) and NCAA Div. II level. Beyond 2012-13, just two of the current ten teams in the WAC will still be on board.

The new look WAC will feature, NMSU, Seattle, Chicago State, Cal St.- Bakersfield, Grand Canyon, Utah Valley and Texas Pan American. It's not pretty by a long shot and it's a far cry from the days of Rick Majerus, Don Haskins, Lavell Anderson, Danny Ainge, Tim Hardaway, Keith Van Horn, Fennis Dembo or Tiny Archibald. No matter... the downgraded WAC gets to hold on to its automatic NCAA tournament bid. Idaho could possibly give the conference eight schools for 2013-14 if they decide against returning to the Big Sky.  

Raiders- Chargers Week 16

In order to crash and burn, you have to get off the launching pad, which the Raiders never did. You can't even say that this was a season that started out with promise and ended badly... it started badly with the Raiders winless during the pre-season and continued on through the remainder of the schedule.   Oakland won back to back games just once this year and Carson Palmer, while putting up some decent numbers... never took command of the offense or clicked with his receivers.

The weakest link in the armor was the defense, they ran out of gas in the second half of the season opener and didn't find their second wind until the return match-up against Kansas City. Jason Tarver's defensive unit hit a stretch where they gave up 42, 55, 38 & 34 points in succession. Then, in the midst of a close loss to the Cleveland Browns... the defense suddenly started to gel. Somehow or another, Tarver's rotating roster of waiver wire stiffs, malcontents and retreads actually started playing with pride and poise.

It was too little, too late and the burden of a predictable  misfiring offense was too much to overcome. The same goes for the plague of injuries that forced Oakland to go with a revolving cast of corners & safeties. Two major factors emerged that can't be overlooked. 1.)The defense got better once Rolando McClain was suspended and then demoted. 2.) Richard Seymour is done. McClain's melt down and lack of production, spells a hasty exit for the former high draft pick. Excise the tumor, kill the cancer.

The concept of keeping it simple must be beyond Greg Knapp's grasp. His offensive (pun intended) zone blocking schemes, stifled the Raiders running game.  Darren McFadden, who at least finished the season still on the field, produced 707 rushing yards for an anemic 3.3  yard per carry average. The Raiders finished 28th in the NFL, averaging just 89 rushing yards per game.  The big play all but disappeared from the Raider playbook and having Carson Palmer nickel and dime his way down the field ultimately led to a bevy of Palmer interceptions.

The Raiders kept Al Saunders around as the Senior offensive assistant, though his total contribution may have been limited to collecting a paycheck. The Raiders had no trouble scoring with Saunders as Offensive Coordinator in 2011 (Hue Jackson called the plays) The fact that both Knapp and Allen were incapable of thinking outside the box, is puzzling. For all his whiz kid aura, Allen is an old guard coach, unwilling to shake things up. This, in an era where teams are taking bold gambles and young (even rookie) quarterbacks are stepping in, taking charge and changing the face of the NFL.

Dennis Allen was reluctant to work Terrelle Pryor into the offense. Both Allen & Knapp stuck with Carson Palmer the way Vince Lombardi stuck with Bart Starr, except that Starr was a proven leader and a winner. You have to wonder if Palmer has a clause in his contract that says he must play every minute of every game, unless he's injured. When finally given a real chance in the season finale, Pryor performed effectively. He didn't dazzle us with his brilliance or abilities, but it was a competent outing that showed that he's matured and matriculated on the sidelines.

Oakland Raiders  21    San Diego Chargers  24

Terrelle Pryor got his first start of the season and performed well enough to rally the Raiders from a 24-7 deficit late in the game to close within three points. Throughout the game, Coach Allen who seemed dead set against playing Pryor, had to be thinking "Why haven't we tried this before?" Pryor finished 13-28 passing for 150 yards and two touchdowns. He did however, throw an interception in the endzone in the third quarter. That aborted drive, had it been successful would have made all the difference... as it turned out. 

For the third straight game, the defense played with determination, allowing San Diego just 210 yards of total offense and shutting down the Chargers running game (31 carries, 70 yards) Once more the lack of balance between offense and defense torpedoed the Raiders chance. When the defense had its lapses (a sustained drive that netted the Chargers an 11 yd. td. pass to Antonio Gates and a 34 yd. td. strike to Danorio Alexander) the offense failed to respond in kind. Oakland's erratic special teams unit also came into play.

Mike Spurlock took the opening kickoff, 99 yards for a Charger touchdown to start the game. Then with just under two minutes left, Coye Francis blocked a San Diego punt which was recovered by Kaelin Burnett at the Charger eleven yard line. Terrelle Pryor connected with Denarius Moore on a five yard td pass to pull within three points. Sebastian Janikowski attempted an onside kick which bounced San Diego's way and allowed the Chargers to run the clock down. The loss dropped Oakland to 4-12 on the season, giving them a favourable position in the draft order. 

Mike Goodson who had one carry for nine yards, was ejected from the game following a skirmish Charger LB, Takeo Spikes. It didn't turn into a bench clearing brawl, though Terrelle Pryor did jump in and pry Goodson away from Spikes. It was a good show of leadership by Pryor, though Goodson didn't seem to appreciate it at the time. Spikes furious at being ejected then went off on Referee John Parry and had to be restrained by his teammates, he then flung his helmet towards Melvin Ingram before being escorted to the tunnel by Randy McMichael, where the two Chargers hugged it out.... bitches.

The Raiders finished 4-12 overall, 0-2 vs. Denver, 0-2 vs. San Diego, 2-0 vs. Kansas City, for a dismal 2-4 division record. Once again, they failed to win a game played in the Eastern time zone and the highlight of the season was easily their unexpected win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The revamped Denver Broncos led by Peyton Manning are the best team in the AFC, as well as the only AFC West team to finish with a winning record. The Broncos seem to make the right moves, going with Tim Tebow got them into the 2011 playoffs and signing Manning has them pegged as a favorite to make the Super Bowl.

Raider Notes: 

Those who paid attention after Reggie McKenzie was hired, knew that even matching 2011's 8-8 record would be an uphill climb. A quick look at the roster when training camp started showed Oakland coming up short on both sides of the ball. It would have taken an extraordinary effort from the coaching staff to pull it all together.... we didn't get that. The 2012 season seemed to test the patience of Raider Nation unlike any other. The season was a wash almost from the time Hue Jackson was let go. Would we have done better with Hue and Al Saunders running the offense?.... I certainly think so, never underestimate the power of continuity.

Carson was Hue's man and was productive enough in 2011 given the circumstances. Hue also had a way of finding DMC some wiggle room to break off runs. Once it became apparent that Knapp's zone blocking scheme didn't mesh with McFadden's strengths, why not change it up? Greg Knapp held the course and spent the entire season forcing a square peg into a round hole. 

Terrelle Pryor proved his mettle on Sunday, firmly planting himself as the new back-up. Carson Palmer could well have some real competition for the starting spot in 2013. Matt Leinart who  was brought in due to his familiarity with Greg Knapp's offense is one and done.

Darren McFadden who up until now, has put up Justin Fargas type numbers, is coming up on a contract year and needs to have a break out season in 2013. Darrius Heyward-Bey and his $7 million plus salary is a burden that the Raiders need to jettison. The same with Richard Seymour and his $12 million salary, even Tommy Kelly who is due $9 million including bonuses could find himself playing for another team in 2013. "I know we have some guys that are going to be the core of what we want and the type of players we want," Allen said. "I also know we've got some work to do to get more of those types of players." 

McKenzie's goal is to clear up $121 million in cap money and go after some quality free agents, without exceeding the cap limit. Al Davis was notorious for doing so and we now reap the "rewards" of his way of thinking. McKenzie is on record as saying that "Oakland would be in position "to do some things" but lamented that he didn't see being able to bring aboard a big-ticket free agent" In the short run, Reggie's fiscal discipline will prove frustrating for fans. It is however, a sound strategy to build towards the future.  

Reggie also has the #3 pick overall in the NFL draft and he may use it to pick up more draft picks in later rounds. No word or speculation yet on who the Raiders would pick (assuming they hold on to the #3 pick) The needs on defense probably outweigh those on offense, Barkevious Mingo DE LSU,  Star Lotulelei D Utah, Damontre Moore DE Texas A&M, Manti Te'o LB Notre Dame, come to mind. CBS Sports' Mock NFL draft has Oakland picking  Jarvis Jones, OLB from Georgia  or Bjoern Werner, DE from Florida State in the first round. With the NFL combines coming up in late Feb., Reggie has time to evaluate the talent pool and pull a rabbit out of his hat. 

Black Monday was in full effect as the reaper mowed its way through the ranks of NFL coaching staffs. Romeo Crennel, Norv Turner, Pat Shurmur, Lovie Smith, Ken Whisenhunt, Andy Reid and Chan Gailey were all fired on Monday. Five GM's were let go, (Mike Tannenbaum, A.J. Smith, Rod Graves, Tom Heckert, Gene Smith) Reid's departure from Philadelphia had been rumored for weeks, Lovie Smith's caught some Chicago Bears fans off guard. Their reasoning being, How do you fire a coach after a ten win season?

Last year we were asking "how can you fire a coach after an 8-8 record?" Dennis Allen is still head coach of the Oakland Raiders and Reggie McKenzie is still the general manager... at least for the time being.  Keep in mind that at this time last year, Hue Jackson was a sure bet to return for another season. Defensive Coordinator, Jason Tarver's future with the club is still undecided, but Offensive Coordinator, Greg Knapp was fired on Monday. Citing the regression of the Raider running game, Coach Allen spoke at the season ending news conference "We weren't getting the production that we needed to, an I felt like we needed to make a change.

Raider faithful have felt that way about Greg Knapp and his offense since the pre-season. As the Raiders failed to score points, the outcry grew louder, the ranks of the boo birds and bag heads (gasp!) started to swell. Knapp was joined on the cut list by, Frank Pollack (offensive line coach) Johnny Holland (linebackers coach) and Steve Hoffman (special teams coordinator) You have to think that more heads will roll, this isn't over by a longshot. Rumors have Al Saunders stepping back into the offensive coordinator's spot, no other candidates for Knapp's job have yet surfaced. 

 

In retrospect, firing Hue Jackson was a mistake. Trying to implement new schemes to an offense that really wasn't broken was a mistake. Reggie is committed to Dennis Allen for another year. I had high hopes for Dennis Allen coming into the 2012 season, those hopes have diminished. Will 2013 be the big turn around year for the Raiders?... call me a glass is half empty kind of guy, but the answer is an emphatic  NO!   It would take a couple of big headline grabbing free agent signings to get the Raiders back on track and as McKenzie already stated, that's not likely to happen.  Go Raiders! 

The End