Big Ten all-decade team

As is my summer ritual, I finally cracked into my first college football preview magazine last week. This seems almost quaint now that we're seeing preseason top 25 rankings on the Internet before the bowl games are even over, but I'm old-fashioned that way.

Here's the first thing I found interesting in the Athlon book: a Big Ten all-decade team. Athlon's rule was that no school could have more than four players represented, and Wisconsin had four: Joe Thomas, Travis Beckum, Erasmus James, and Jamar Fletcher. All worthy choices. Here are the entire teams:

Offense
Drew Brees, Mike Hart (gag), Damien Anderson, Braylon Edwards, Charles Rogers, Beckum, Thomas, Greg Eslinger, Jake Long, Robert Gallery, Levi Brown

Defense
James, Mitch King, Lamarr Woodley, James Laurinaitis, Paul Posluszny, A.J. Hawk, Dan Connor, Vontae Davis, Jamar Fletcher, Bob Sanders, Mike Doss

Special teams
Nate Kaeding, Travis Dorsch, Ted Ginn, Antwaan Randle El

Great teams, not too much to quibble about. Davis on defense is one I question, beating out Marlin Jackson. Lee Evans was the third wide receiver. Hart was apparently a unanimous selection, while I still maintain that he is the most overrated college football player in recent memory. What about Laurence Maroney or Marion Barber? As good as Minnesota's running game was for much of the decade, they should have more than just Eslinger.

The balance of teams represented does clearly illustrate who has been the league's weak sisters this century: Northwestern, Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan State.

The Draft

One of the best things about our vacation was that I got to read three books. Three books! That used to be an average week for me; now it's an average year.

The first was The Draft by Pete Williams, an excellent behind-the-scenes look at the NFL draft.

What made it good was his focus on the agent-selection and Combine training prospective draftees go through. Especially the agents. Guys like Leigh Steinberg and Drew Rosenhaus get all the pub, but there are hundreds of other guys who work their butts off recruiting prospective clients. Sometimes they spend money sending them to training, but the kids fall in the draft and the agents' cut of the signing bonuses is smaller than their initial outlay.

Anttaj Hawthorne is a focal point of the book, as he, his uncle, and a family lawyer go through the agent selection process. The book brought back the painful memory of Hawthorne (and Jonathan Clinkscale) testing positive for marijuana leading up to the draft, sending Taj's stock plummeting. He is not happy with the advice his agent gave him; if you'll recall, Northwestern's Luis Castillo had a positive drug test but an aggressive repentance campaign helped him land in the first round.

Plenty of other Badgers are mentioned in the book, including Erasmus James, who the Vikings picked in the first round that year. For instance, according to the two NFL scouting services, BLESTO and National Football Scouting, Inc., ranked the following Badgers among their senior classmates before the 2004 season:

Anthony Davis, ninth and sixth among running backs (went in the seventh round to Indianapolis)
Morgan Davis, seventh among offensive tackles (ahead of eventual first round pick Jammal Brown)
Dan Buenning, sixth and seventh among guards (went in the fourth round to Tampa Bay)
Clinkscale, ninth among guards
Hawthorne, second and fifth among defensive tackles (went in the sixth round to Oakland)
Jason Jefferson, ninth and seventh among defensive tackles (went in sixth round to New Orleans)

Interestingly, James and Scott Starks (a third rounder to Jacksonville) were not rated at their positions.

That 2004 team had some talent on it, too bad shaky quarterback play and injuries at running back hurt them so much in the last three games.

Anyway, good book, especially interesting because I read it in the days leading up to this year's draft.

Recruiting update

Talking about the current Badgers is downright depressing, so let's look at some of the high school recruits to commit to Wisconsin in the last month. Not a bad crew.

Conor O'Neil, linebacker, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Led his team to a state title last year, is going to have to put on weight to play linebacker in college (he's 195 now). We beat out Auburn, Clemson, Purdue and Rutgers for Conor.

A.J. Fenton, linebacker, Erie, Pa. A top 20 recruit at linebacker who hasn't played the position much before this year, he also had offers from Illinois, Maryland, Pittsburgh and Stanford.

David Gilbert, defensive end, Oakland Park, Fla. He's 6-4, 220, runs a 4.7 40, he's from Florida - a young Erasmus James? We beat UConn, Kentucky, Louisville, South Carolina, and Central Florida for this dude.

Tyler Dippel, defensive tackle, Hartford, Wis. Seems like a pretty athletic kid who's going to grow into DT size. Had an offer from Stanford and some MAC schools.

The rest of the class includes: safety Josh Peprah of Plano, Texas; wide receiver Jeff Duckworth of Cincinnati; defensive end Casy Dehn of Owatonna, Minn.; tackle Travis Frederick of Walworth, Wis.; tight end Brian Wozniak of Loveland, Ohio; linebacker Chris Borland of Kettering, Ohio; running back Montee Ball of Wentzville, Mo.; tackle Zac Matthias of Hemlock, Mich.; quarterback Jon Budmayr of Woodstock, Ill.; guard Ryan Groy of Middleton; defensive tackle Jordan Kohout of Waupun; and defensive end Shelby Harris of Mequon.

What I like about this class thus far is that it includes five defensive linemen, a position that desperately needs an infusion of talent; it includes three players from Ohio, which has long been good to us; and we seem to be locking up all of the top prospects in Wisconsin.

For the entire list from Scout click here.

Statistical leaders: Defense

Here are the teams that led these statistical categories on the defensive side of the ball:

Yards per game: 2006 (253.1), 2004 (291.3), 1998 (292.6). The '06 defense was 38 yards per game better than the second-best — wow! In an era when more and more teams were running the Spread. And without a lot of exceptional individual players, maybe Ike and that's it. That's a credit to Joe Stellmacher, Mark Zalewski, and the other leaders of that defense who made sure everyone was in the right spot at the right time.

Rushing yards per game: 1998 (92.2), 1999 (109.9), 2006 (114.8). Holding opponents under 100 yards rushing per game over 12 games is nearly impossible to do, but Donnel Thompson, Chris Ghidorzi, Jason Doering and friends did it.

Completion percentage: 2006 (47.8%), 2004 (48.8%), 2000 (50%). That '04 mark is a tribute to the pass rush provided by Erasmus James and the defensive line — Brett Bell started at corner opposite the underrated Scott Starks.

Passing yards per game: 2006 (138.3), 2004 (167.3), 1999 (188.2).

Third-down conversion percentage: 2006 (28.2%), 2004 (31.2%), 1999 (33%), 1997 (33.3%), 1998 (34.7%). Are we coming to realize that the 2006 defense was the greatest in modern UW history?

Turnovers per game: 1993 (2.8) and 2998 (2.8), 2002 (2.5), 1994 (2.3). And yet the '02 team lost six games.

Penalty yards per game: 2006 (38.3), 1996 (39.1), 1999 (39.3).

Points per game: 1998 (11.9), 2006 (12.1), 1999 (12.8), 2004 (15.4), 1993 (16.3).

So here's the question I'll throw out at the end of today's exercise: which defense was better, 1998 or 2006?

Reunited and it feels like a long shot

Just saw on the AP wire that the Redskins acquired Erasmus James from the Vikings. Nice that Ras is going to get another shot to carve out an NFL career, despite is knee injuries.

What's interesting is that the Skins' defensive line coach is none other than John Palermo. Didn't know he had surfaced in the NFL - good for him.

Hopefully these two can recreate the magic of 2004 in Washington.

Vikings erase Erasmus James

In a mildly surprising move, the Vikings released former UW defense end Erasmus James a couple days ago.

It's too bad, injuries played a big role in his ineffectiveness. It's not altogether surprising, given how often he was hurt during his Badger days.

Ras was really sort of an out-of-left field type of guy for Wisconsin. He was so dominant during the first half of the 2004 season that some people were talking about him as a top 5 pick. Then he got hurt on that cut block at Purdue in the Scott Starks game, and he was never the same again.

Whenever a professional rival takes a Badger - like the Vikings with Michael Bennett or James, the Lions with Brian Calhoun - it's bittersweet. You're glad they're in the pros and you want them to do well and represent UW ... but not too well. But you never want to see it end like this.

Hopefully Ras gets another shot, stays healthy, and sticks in the NFL for awhile.

Badgers in the NFL: an '07 recap

Went to the Packers game yesterday, with a much better outcome than my last trip to Lambeau. Got a chance to watch former Badgers Mark Tauscher and Alex Lewis, but Brian Calhoun is hurt. As I saw Ron Dayne having another solid game, and when I got home and saw Jim Sorgi at quarterback for the Colts and Chris Chambers catching a touchdown for the Chargers, it got me thinking what a nice season this was for UW alumni in the NFL. Let's run it down:

-Michael Bennett, Buccaneers: 241 yards rushing, 1 TD.
Has over 3,600 yards rushing for his career.

-Brooks Bollinger, Vikings: 391 yards passing, 1 TD

-Brian Calhoun, Lions: 35 yards rushing

-Chris Chambers, Chargers: 970 yards receiving, 4 TD. Has over 6,200 career receiving yards.

-Owen Daniels, Texans: 768 yards receiving, 3 TD

-Ron Dayne, Texans: 773 yards, 6 TD. Has over 3,700 career rushing yards.

-Lee Evans, Bills: 849 yards receiving, 5 TD. Has over 3,700 career receiving yards.

-Jamar Fletcher, Texans: 19 tackles

-Nick Greisen, Ravens: 30 tackles

-Erasmus James, Vikings: 7 tackles, 1 sack

-Jason Jefferson, Bills: 11 tackles

-Al Johnson, Cardinal: 14 starts at center

-Matt Katula, Ravens: 16 games at long snapper

-Ross Kolodziej, Cardinals: 3 games

-Jim Leonhard, Bills: 54 tackles, 2 interceptions, 6 starts at safety

-Alex Lewis, Lions: 29 tackles, 1 forced fumble

-Jason Pociask, Jets: 1 reception

-Casey Rabach, Redskins: 15 starts at center

-Mike Schneck, Falcons: 12 games at long snapper

-Jim Sorgi, Colts: 132 yards passing, 1 TD

-Scott Starks, Jaguars: 22 tackles, 1 interception

-Aaron Stecker, Saints: 448 yards rushing, 5 TD

-Mark Tauscher, Packers: 16 starts at right tackle

-Joe Thomas, Browns: 16 starts at left tackle

-Brandon Williams, 49ers/Rams: 10 games, 2 fumbles

Lots of Badgers in the NFL. You could just about field a whole team of them, here's how it would look:

Offense: Sorgi, Bennett/Stecker, Dayne, Thomas, Tauscher, Rabach, Johnson, Dan Buenning (Bucs), Evans, Chambers, Daniels
Defense: James, Jefferson, Kolodziej, Anttaj Hawthorne (cut by Raiders in training camp), Greisen, Lewis, Fletcher, Starks, Leonhard, Rogers, BJ Tucker (last seen with 49ers)

Looking at these lists something strikes me: for a program built on defense and running the ball, the pro players we've produced have been offensive skill position players and linemen known for their pass blocking. It wouldn't be entirely surprising if none of those defensive players were on NFL rosters come September. Hopefully Ike, Shaughnessy, Casillas, et al can reverse that trend.

Looks like the Bills and Texans are my favorite teams other than the Packers. Also, if you would have asked a fan in 2000 which former Badger running back would be playing the best at the end of the 2007 NFL season - Dayne, Bennett, or Stecker - who would you have said?

Outback Bowl thoughts

Following up on Andy's comment to the original Outback Bowl post:

I think that's interesting too, since everyone has basically assumed that we're not going back to the Cap One Bowl for the third straight year.

Here's my fear: Missouri or Will's alma mater, West Virginia, loses on Saturday; Ohio State goes to the national title game; Illinois goes to the Rose Bowl; Michigan then leaps into the Cap One Bowl and not the fourth-tier bowl they deserve.

Whatever, I'm happy with Tampa. We've been there three times before: losing to Georgia in 2005 and 1998 and beating Duke in 1995 (see, basketball isn't that important - we beat Duke in football 13 years ago!).

Those were wildly uneven matchups. Following the '94 season, in which we had the talent to challenge for the Big Ten or national title, we got a Duke team that had overachieved and was outclassed. The first Georgia game followed a '97 season where we were pretty mediocre, undeservedly leapfrogged Purdue in the bowl pickings because our fan like getting drunk in Florida, then watched Mike Bobo turn into Joe Montana for one morning. The last trip was the culmination of a painful late '04 collapse, when we lose our last three games after starting 9-0, including the Tucson monsoon and Minnesota blowout on a perfect Madison November day that most of us were at. What I remember from that one is how much the media hyped the Erasmus James-David Pollack defensive end matchup, which was won convincingly by Pollack.

As I said earlier, I'd really like Tennessee to be the opponent, for variety's sake. Of course, the way LSU's games have been going this season the Vols could win Saturday, bump LSU to the Capital One Bowl, and bump Florida to the Outback Bowl. I'd be okay with that, too, although we're less likely to beat Florida than Tennessee. Trying to stop Tim Tebow would be challenging and entertaining, but they run the freaking spread, and you all know how I feel about that.

Don't know much about Tennessee, but pretty sure they run a man's offense. I'd rather face Erik Ainge winging it around back there than some magician/quarterback. Ainge threw for 2,900 yards and 27 TDs this year, they seem to have a number of capable wideouts, and Arian Foster is a 1,00-yard back. Will research more once the opponent is determined for good.

-Rivals announced its all-Big Ten team. Our first teamers are Travis Beckum, Kraig Urbik, Nick Hayden, and David Gilreath as a punt returner. Our second teamers are Matt Shaughnessy, Jack Ikegwuonu, Shane Carter, and Ken DeBauche. Good to see Gilreath get some pub.

-In the Journal Sentinel's Badger Blog Dave Heller today found that a Yahoo NFL Draft columnist thinks Wisconsin expects both Becks and Ike to return next season. I'm not so sure, but we would be looking pretty damn good if they did.

Chris Chambers, Michael Bennett on the move

They probably won't get many headlines Monday morning, but Chris Chambers and Michael Bennett each scored touchdowns with their new teams Sunday, Chambers with San Diego and Bennett with Tampa Bay. I'm glad these guys are getting a chance - Chambers to play with a real team and a real quarterback, and Bennett a chance to get some carries in a situation were he's not stuck behind Larry Johnson, Reggie Bush, or four bums who Mike Tice likes to rotate.

The bigger issue is that here are two more ex-Badgers involved in trades (Bennett for the second time, I think) in a league where players are not traded nearly as often as the other major leagues. Jamar Fletcher, Ron Dayne, and Brooks Bollinger are other recent examples. These guys are in a kind of NFL limbo - not good enough to be untouchable, but not bad enough to give up on altogether.

Given their college pedigrees - Fletch and Dayne especially - it's surprising they haven't been able to establish themselves as key players on a team. Especially Bennett. I think most honest observers would have projected him as the best pro of this lot, based on his explosive 2000 season.

Note: Chambers, in my opinion, can still become a cornerstone guy. The Dolphins weren't necessarily dumping him, they're building for the future. Hopefully having a respectable QB like Rivers and weapons like Gates and LT around him will give Chris's career the boost it needs.

And Vikings fans, tell me if I'm wrong on this prediction: Erasmus James is the next former Badger to be traded, for something like a conditional sixth-round pick, if he's not released outright.

Wisconsin-Penn State preview

My first memory of Penn State came in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. They were playing Miami that year, and Miami had beaten my favorite team at the time - Oklahoma - earlier that season, and I wanted them to lose bad. Then they showed up at the stadium wearing fatigues and cultivating a bad boy image. I really wanted them to lose bad. Knew next to nothing about Penn State - the only player from that team I can remember is Shane Conlan - but I was a big fan that night. And they won.

Time wore on, and when PSU joined the Big Ten I was happy, it was a nice expansion for the league. Joe Paterno's 1994 team was awesome, with Kerry Collins, Ki-Jana Carter (my wife's favorite player from that team), Kyle Brady, etc. They should have won the national title that year, not Nebraska. I remember watching their bowl game at Froehlich's that year with him and Burch yelling "Penn State! (clap clap) Penn State! (clap clap)"

And for the most part they've remained one of my least-hated teams in the conference. We've had some great games with them (even losses) and great wins against them over the past 15 years. A few things bother me about their program now, though:

1. Lot of troublemakers in the program ... although we could apply the glass house rule here, too.
2. JoePa's rant at the end of the first half of last year's game, when Bielema had the kick coverage team go offside time after time, was ridiculous - there was nothing being done against the rules of the time. It wasn't the first time Paterno had gone apesh!t on a ref recently, and that sort of behavior is unbecoming when it's consistent.
3. After Erasmus James took out Michael Robinson a couple years ago, Robinson's mom prayed for Ras to get hurt, and he eventually did.
4. Will said that when he went to the '05 game at Beaver Stadium, the fans were not as classy and dignified as I had previously thought, in fact it was just the opposite. That and the Badgers' loss made it a less than pleasurable experience for Will.

On the field this year, the teams look pretty even - flawed squads with some talent who were legitimate preseason contenders but are now on track to go 5-3 or 4-4 in the Big Ten and fight for a berth in the Outback Bowl. Either team could get hot and run off a bunch of wins, but their performance to date doesn't indicate that's likely.

Both teams lost at Illinois by about a touchdown. PSU somehow played a worse non-conference schedule than UW. PSU lost at Michigan, but UW probably would have lost that game at that time as well. PSU had an easier time with Iowa at home, but they caught the Hawkeyes two games further into what looks to be a monumental collapse.

Luckily for Bucky, PSU's QB, Anthony Morelli, is immobile. Unluckily, he's got a nice arm and talented wideouts. I think we can handle them. Their best back is one of the scofflaws and he's out, but his replacement is fine.

PSU's defense seems to be as good as usualy, featuring great linebackers. Dan Connor and Sean Lee get a lot of press, and they should - they were probably better than Paul Posluzny last year, and he was pretty damn good himself. We'll have a tough time running on them, but I thought the same thing last year and PJ had his best game of the stretch run. Many analysts are saying our passing game is shot with Swan out, but I think otherwise. Still, it'll be tough to move the ball on these guys.

PJ: 23 carries, 79 yards, 1 TD (whoops, originally typed 29 yards, my bad)
Donovan: 19-29, 211 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Beckum: 8 catches, 94 yards
Jefferson: 3 catches, 49 yards
Graham: 1 catch, 7 yards, 1 TD
Ike: First pick of the year
Shaughnessy: 1 sack, generally disruptive
Hayden: 1 sack
Levy: 1 sack

Score: Penn State 20, Wisconsin 17