More post-Champs thoughts

After a few days of reflection, I've got some more thoughts on what the Badgers' win over Miami the other night means. It's mostly good. Here goes.

Speed vs. power
National media types oversimplified our matchup and boiled it down to this, and when we won credited power winning out. Perhaps, but I'll submit that while Miami had the speed advantage among perimeter/skill players, our defensive line's speed advantage over Miami's offensive line was the deciding factor.

Jason Fox's absence at left tackle for the Canes was absolutely fatal for them. O'Brien Schofield and J.J. Watt lived in Jacory Harris's face and never let him get going. If he had time, chances are their receivers would have been more open, or Harris would have hit them when they were open.

It reminded me of the national championship game where Ohio State came in as a big favorite against Florida, and Florida's D-line just killed Troy Smith by running right around the tackles. OSU had fast, skilled perimeter guys who just couldn't get the ball.

Tight End U
If you're from the Midwest, or from any other area Big Ten teams recruit, why would you not go to Wisconsin? Since Paul Chryst's arrival, we've had Owen Daniels, Travis Beckum, Garrett Graham, and now Lance Kendricks. What's interesting about those successful guys is that only Graham started out as a tight end, the others switching from quarterback, linebacker/defensive end, and wide receiver.

Next year we've got Warren Herring and now Sherard Cadogan coming in, two of the better prospects in our next recruiting class, and both true tight ends in the 6-3, 230-pound range. By all accounts they'll fit in nicely and maybe even get a chance to play right away. We've also got a kid named Manasseh Garner, who made his name in high school as a linebacker but appears headed toward an H-Back role in Madison; he's only weighing 205-210 right now, so you'd think he has to put on some weight first.

But we were also in the running for very highly-rated tight ends C.J. Fiedorowicz (who backed off his early commitment and went with Iowa) and Alex Smith (who went to North Carolina). How could either of those two possibly thought those schools were better fits for an aspiring professional tight end?

We have oranges here, too
As much as I'd like to see us play bowl games in states other than Florida, putting together a nice showing like we did the other night has to help our standing in the eyes of high school players in that state. Still, we need to be picking the right ones, not just taking anyone from Florida.

We had 11 Floridians on the roster this year. Two of them, Jae McFadden and Culmer Ste. Jean, were starters. Zach Brown, Antonio Fenelus and Aaron Henry are key contributors who've started at times. David Gilbert shows promise. The rest of the guys are freshmen or sophomores. So not a lot of Florida stars on the roster now, but not bad, either.

Finish them
Ask Jana, Graham's fumble in the fourth quarter when we were going in for the game-salting touchdown sent me through the roof. Time after time after time this year we had an opponent on the ropes but let them escape with new life: Northern Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, Indiana, and Miami were instances where it happened late; we were controlling Iowa in the first half of that loss, and we had chances to beat Northwestern. Next year we need to do better stepping on our opponents' necks when the opportunity presents itself.

From the glass-half-full vantage point, the cases presented above showed a remarkable improvement in the "stealing defeat from the jaws of victory" department, we showed resolve in not letting any of those first five result in losses. But with our offense, we should be putting teams away early and giving Badger fans' hearts a break.

(On this subject: How many times did Auburn let Northwestern back into the Outback Bowl? Fumbles, penalties, you name it, if that was Wisconsin I would have had a heart attack from all the miscues. Great game, by the way, I was totally wrong on that one.)

Three questions from Edward

Regular reader Edward was nice enough to comment on a recent post in which he posed me three interesting questions. Here goes:

Am I going to jinx the Badgers by going to Evanston next weekend to watch them (Badgers at Northwestern is always both exciting and terrible)?

Yes, Edward, you are. I thought about seeing if NU had tickets available for the game, since it's an easy drive for me and my wife and mom would probably find some things for the boys to do in Chicago.

But then I remembered that my dad, brother, and brother-in-law went to Evanston in January to watch the Badgers play basketball, and even though we had a ton of UW fans in attendance, we lost. Glad we went, and we'll probably go again. But watching the Wisconsin football team lose on the road -- which I have not experienced since the 1998 Michigan game -- is excruciating.

The game this Saturday is really important -- for a 10-win season, January 1 bowl implications, an outside shot at a Big Ten title -- so I figured I'd play it safe and watch the game on TV. In addition, I will be wearing the same clothes I've worn every other Saturday this fall.

I think the final score of this game will be something like 24-23.

What do you think the chances of Iowa and Penn State losing and Wisconsin getting into the BCS are?

Slim and none. I'd peg the odds of either Iowa or Penn State losing at 3:1, both at 20:1. It's a long shot that Minnesota beats Iowa. I'd peg the odds of Wisconsin getting into the BCS at 100:1. Word is out that the Big Ten isn't all that hot this season, and the Ohio State-Iowa game reinforced that to the rest of the world. Plus, TCU and Boise State going to deservingly take two BCS spots away from BCS conference schools.

What is up with the bad couple weeks for Badgers in the NFL? I kind of follow them in the NFL but ... Owen Daniels gets injured for the season after Jaworski calls him the best TE in pro football, Chris Chambers gets cut because, apparently, they thought his personal life was getting in the way of his play and Jim Leonhard suffers a broken thumb. Are any Badgers actually having a good year in the NFL?

I was thinking the same thing Monday night while watching the Browns-Ravens game. The Browns are one of what seems like 10 god-awful teams in the NFL, and they are dragging the best former Badger in the pros, Joe Thomas, down with them. So I turned to this handy link I found on Twitter, which informed me that:

-Lee Evans caught two touchdown passes last week.
-Chambers averaged 20 yards per catch.
-Matt Shaughnessy had his second career sack. He's looking like a guy who turns out to be a better pro than collegian.
-Leonhard had a nice game, and might not necessarily be out.
-Some other guys did some other intangible things.

I think the ascension of Daniels, Leonhard and Thomas was something of an aberration, and what we saw last week is more in line with typical Badgers-in-the-NFL production.

Badgers in the NFL, good and bad

Some ups and downs for former Badger in the NFL.

Down, Owen Daniels hurt his knee and is out for the season. This one is really too bad, Daniels has established himself as one of the best tight ends around and Houston was coming on. Hopefully he can recover fully.

Up, Matt Shaughnessy had a great game against San Diego, with five tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss.

Down, Chris Chambers, who in the same game had a big catch for San Diego, was released by the Chargers the next day. He was picked up by the Chiefs, though. He figures to have another productive year or two left as a professional.

Nice Jimmy Leonhard story

This weekend Justin Perras sent me a notice about a good feature in the New York Times on UW alum Jim Leonhard. Not a long read, give it a look.

It's the kind of thing I never get tired of reading: the humble, freaky athletic kid from the sticks who made good. Everything that's right with Wisconsin football, and UW athletics in general.

Leonhard is sometimes a punchline when my friends and I start bouncing around UW announcing cliches. "Did you know Aaron Gibson can do the splits?" "Owen Daniels wants to be a meteorologist." "Did you know Jim Leonhard isn't/wasn't on scholarship?"

But just because lazy announcers relied on that tidbit too many times instead of probing deeper into his game doesn't mean it's not cool, and something to be proud of. I never thought Leonhard would have lasted this long in the NFL, let alone making it in the first place, but here he is. Outstanding.

Lee and T.O.

The other night while driving around I heard Bucks announcer Ted Davis jokingly referring to the Bills' signing of Terrell Owens. Made me laugh, too -- can you really see the good, hard-working people of Buffalo putting up with that clown?

If he helps the Bills win, sure. What I'm most interested in, naturally, is what T.O. can mean for Lee Evans.

It seems like ever since the Bills drafted Evans and he began producing at a slightly above-average level, people in the know have said A. He needs a decent quarterback and B. He needs a complementary receiver.

At least he has B now. T.O. will attract so much attention, both from opposing defenses and the media, that Evans will be able to quietly thrive. Trent Edwards isn't a great quarterback, but he's not bad, either, and T.O. might make him even better.

It would be really nice to see another Badger to take the next step, a la Joe Thomas and now Owen Daniels, to Pro Bowl-caliber player. Evans is the most likely candidate, and now that he has a better running mate that has a better chance of happening.

Good for Owen Daniels

Wasn't around for the Pro Bowl, and in all likelihood wouldn't have watched it anyway, but I did make a point of checking the box score and saw that our very own Owen Daniels scored a touchdown in it. Good for him!

What a rise from being a heralded quarterback recruit to yet another former heralded quarterback recruit who moved to tight end to being a standout tight end to being a Pro Bowl tight end. It would be great to see Travis Beckum joining Owen in this game in a couple years.

NFL Badgers

Last week Corby asked me my thoughts on the most successful Badgers currently playing in the NFL. [ADD: In general, this is based on 2008 performances.] What do you think?

1. Joe Thomas

2. Jim Leonhard

3. Owen Daniels - did you realize he had the third-most receiving yards of any tight end this year?

4. Lee Evans

5. Chris Chambers

6. Mark Tauscher

7. Casey Rabach

8. Aaron Stecker

9. Jim Sorgi

10. Alex Lewis

11. Nick Hayden

Beckum injured, out for season

Guess Travis Beckum's injury Saturday wasn't just a rolled ankle, it was a fractured fibula. As such, his college career is over.

That's too bad, obviously not the way anyone wanted Becks' time in Madison to end. This season was shaping up to be a massive disappointment for him anyhow, with the hamstring injury, then the gaffes against Michigan and high number of drops. He had seemed destined to go out on a high note.

Beckum's commitment coming out of Oak Creek was a huge deal for us at the time, as many services had him ranked tops among high school linebackers, and we typically didn't land anyone from that talent-rich high school. He never fit in on defense, though, which wasn't that surprising given his frame. After his freshman season, he seemed on the verge of bustdom.

But his switch to tight end was a brilliant move for everyone involved. His breakout 2006 season played as much a role in our unexpected 12-1 record that year as anything. With the departure of Brandon Williams, Jonathan Orr, and Owen Daniels, John Stocco needed a reliable receiving target, and Travis filled the bill far better than anyone could have hoped.

He was a natural receiver, running good routes, displaying excellent hands, and expertly adjusting to passes in the air. Just look at that classic picture above.

Beckum made a wise choice to return to Madison for his senior year. He needed to put on good weight and improve his blocking skills without losing his agility. His play in limited action this season showed he still has work to do on the blocking front. Still, this week's Sporting News projected him as a first round pick (#23 to Atlanta), and provided this injury heals in time for spring workouts, he should be fine.

Where will he end up in the NFL? I'm skeptical that he'll ever be a tight end in the classic sense, but some creative offensive coordinator will find a use for his skills and he'll put together a solid career. He'll get open and catch passes in the NFL.

What does it mean for the current Badgers? Even more balls thrown Garrett Graham's way, for one. Dustin Sherer looked his way a lot against Illinois, and I'd like to think Garrett's up for the challenge.

It also means it's time for Lance Kendricks to grow up even more. He's shown potential and made plenty of mistakes this year while filling in for Beckum, and he's going to get plenty more opportunities to contribute. After one special teams play yesterday Bret Bielema was especially congratulatory toward Lance, I'm guessing it's part of some work to build his psyche.

I'd also say this means the wide receivers have to step up and make more plays, but that's been the case all year and we haven't seen much of it. David Gilreath's play against Illinois was encouraging, though.

Travis Beckum is done as a Badger, five (hopefully six) games too soon. Yet another thing to go wrong in 2008.

Owen Daniels

The Jon Budmayr commitment got me thinking about all the other high school quarterbacks we've gotten from Chicago, few of whom have worked out all that well. One who did was Owen Daniels, albeit at a different position.

You know what? He's quietly become one of the best tight ends in the NFL. Read this nice little write-up on Owen, part of a look at the AFC South at that position.

I laughed at his "limitations": not a deep threat. How many tight ends are?

Owen's a good example of a guy who realized his greatest potential to contribute and grow as a football player was at a different position, and wasn't too stubborn or proud to make the switch.

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?