Of Course I Still Love EJ Manuel and Ponder Too!

Coming out of college I had a great amount of respect for the Quarterbacks that Florida State produced under Jimbo Fisher. My respect for them had more to do with their class off the field than anything they did on the field. Those two quarterbacks that graduated, EJ Manuel and Christian Ponder helped lead the FSU resurgence and they were great guys. Each is/was very hard not to like. You see, Ponder went to my church at FSU and was nice as could be and I had a class with EJ Manuel while I was in undergrad and it was the same story. Each treated every person they met with dignity and respect. There were no negatives with either off the field and they have been nothing but class.  Each of them has done a fantastic job conducting themselves as men.

There is another side to the story though. Each of these fantastic individuals was a first round draft pick and considered overdrafted by the "experts." Both of these guys were considered a "reach." I was okay with where each of these guys were drafted although I thought each could last a tad longer in the draft. It seems that because they were drafted higher than expected many want or expect them to fail. I thought they would do well and root/rooted for their success, but many wanted them to fail. It is difficult to see why because of the men/people they are, but some people seek enjoyment in that. It seems very premature to me, but people are entitled to think what they are entitled to think. I will explain though why I think that kind of thinking is wrong.

Let's start with EJ Manuel. First, it was an incredibly weak QB class that EJ was apart of. There was no guy that anyone would consider a franchise QB, but I believed EJ would be a very capable starter that could get a team into the playoffs. There was nobody else I or any other team thought that was capable of doing that. The Bills agreed with me and took EJ in the 1st round. If you need a QB and there is only one decent one available, you may have to draft him 10-15 spots higher than expected. QBs get overdrafted all the time. No other QB looked close to NFL capable in that draft other than Geno Smith to some people (not me). Smith was apparently a prick in all his meetings with teams which made the decision easier for Buffalo. EJ was picked in a good spot by them. My concern with EJ had nothing to do with anything on the field, it had to do with durability.

Those concerns were justified when EJ Manuel was hurt several times during his rookie season. A rookie season in which he was supposed to sit behind Kevin Kolb so he could better prepare himself to be an NFL QB. However, Kolb had a career ending injury and Manuel had a fantastic preseason which led many analysts to think he was the right guy for the job. His injury plagued rookie season though limited him to parts of 10 games that rookie season. They went 4-6 with him last year as a rookie. Buffalo was 2-4 without him. Small sample size and not much information to gather. This year Buffalo was 2-2 with Manuel in what was basically still his rookie season. For some reason they benched him and they were able to win the first game post Manuel, but it was a poor decision by Buffalo. It was short-sided and something most teams would not do. EJ Manuel was benched for his low QB rating and performance, but look at the list of guys who had a lower QB rating than Manuel in NFL history of 1st round QBs through the same number of games.... (E.J.'s was 78.5)
Steve McNair 78.0
Michael Vick 76.9
Troy Aikman 76.4
Eli Manning 73.4
Drew Bledsoe 72.0
John Elway 71.9
Alex Smith 69.2
Phil Simms 65.5
Jim Plunkett 61.0
Archie Manning 60.7
Terry Bradshaw 52.9

Look those names don't make Manuel successful, but they help to prove that Manuel has not been that bad. They also help prove that there is a lot of hope for EJ. Still, EJ has handled the very difficult situation with nothing but class, which is the real reason to love the guy. After his team beat Detroit despite being benched, EJ tweeted out...
"Great team win against Detroit yesterday. #BillsMafia"
After getting trashed by fans and the media, that is the class that EJ Manuel displayed while not playing. Last night he tweeted out a good luck message about the Buffalo Sabres starting their season. Manuel loves Buffalo and is nothing, but class. However, Manuel is just one of many FSU Qb's loaded with class.

This obviously brings us to the Christian Ponder situation. Ponder is very similar. He was picked 12th overall when many analysts had him rated as a 2nd round QB in 2011. Most had him behind those he got picked behind and realized it was not the best QB class. Todd McShay did think that Blaine Gabbert was the greatest QB prospect ever at the time, but others were more realistic. It was a weak class. Cam Newton was the obvious #1 pick and he has been the most successful. The next most successful is Colin Kaepernick who was somewhat surprising to be picked at the top of round 2. I do not remember anybody saying Kaepernick would be a stud, but I could be wrong on that. Those are the two QBs that were clearly better than an injury plagued Ponder. 2 were clearly better. Ponder was drafted behind three QBs. He was also drafted behind Blaine Gabbert and Jake Locker. Neither of those two has outperformed Ponder so it was more a weak QB class than anything.

Ponder has also like Manuel had an injury plagued career. He only started all 16 games once in his career during that 2012 season that the Minnesota Vikings went to the playoffs. Ponder was injured for the playoff game though and the Vikings went on to lose to Green Bay.

These guys aren't beloved by me and other Seminole fans for their on field heroics in the NFL, but for the way they represent the university. They are loved for what they did for FSU while they were there and helping to start our resurgence. Both of these QBs more importantly are great people. If you look around the NFL right now, good people should be celebrated. Class should be praised and we should root for these kind of guys. Each of them will always have fans for that reason. I will always be a fan for that reason. I had a class with EJ Manuel at FSU and Christian Ponder went to my church, and neither one of them could be nicer to the people around them in those settings. Of course, they must produce on the field as well, but we can be proud of people they are. I must admit that my expectations have lowered some on Ponder, but I will always be a fan. EJ Manuel will be a capable NFL starter IF he can stay healthy. I firmly believe in EJ to succeed. No matter what though, I will always root for these two and many others will as well. It is good to see athletes who uphold the Garnet and Gold.

-Noland

2013 NFL Season Predictions

The NFL season is here. Sit back and enjoy my predictions for this year. I will go division by division and bold the playoff teams. I will also give records of where I think the team will finish.

NFC East
Washington Redskins (11-5)
New York Giants (7-9)
Philadelphia Eagles (6-10)
Dallas Cowboys (5-11)

NFC North
Minnesota Vikings (12-4)
Green Bay Packers (9-7)
Chicago Bears (6-10)
Detroit Lions (3-13)

NFC South
New Orleans Saints (11-5)
Atlanta Falcons (10-6)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8)
Carolina Panthers (3-13)

NFC West
San Francisco 49ers (14-2)
St. Louis Rams (10-6)
Seattle Seahawks (8-8)
Arizona Cardinals (5-11)

AFC East

Buffalo Bills (12-4)
Miami Dolphins (10-6)
New England Patriots (7-9)
New York Jets (2-14)

AFC North
Cincinnati Bengals (12-4)
Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
Cleveland Browns (4-12)

AFC South
Houston Texans (14-2)
Indianapolis Colts (8-8)
Jacksonville Jaguars (6-10)
Tennessee Titans (2-14)

AFC West
Denver Broncos (11-5)
Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)
San Diego Chargers (9-7)
Oakland Raiders (3-13)


MVP
Adrian Peterson
I do not like picking a repeat winner of an award, and rarely do it, but AD is the best. Peterson is an absolute animal, if he is healthy, I see him doing big things. Could he break the rushing record for a year? Probably not, but he will have another monster year if he stays healthy.

Coach of the Year
Jeff Fisher
Everyone is very high on the Seahawks and the 49ers. One of those two teams are who most people are picking to win it all. Almost everyone has both of these teams making the playoffs. I do not have that prediction. I have the 49ers winning it all, but I think St. Louis passes Seattle this year. Sam Bradford establishes himself and the Rams make the playoffs. All of these happening make Jeff Fisher the Coach of the Year. Although Doug Marrone getting the Bills into the playoffs might win this award. That all depends on EJ Manuel's health though. I have been high on EJ and think if healthy the Bills take it. However, with EJ's knee injury, I am a little more confident in my Rams pick, so I will go with Fisher. I wouldn't be surprised if St. Louis won the division.

5 Bold Guarantees outside of records
My main guarantee was that Percy Harvin would get hurt, but that already happened so...
1)  EJ Manuel is Rookie of the Year.
2) Vernon Davis will have double digit touchdowns
3) Christian Ponder throws for multiple touchdowns in a Minnesota playoff win.
4) Anquan Boldin has another Super Bowl Catch and is Super Bowl MVP.
5) Mario Williams will finish top 5 in the NFL in sacks.

Bonus Guarantee: CJ Spiller has 2500+ yards between rushing and receiving

NFL Playoffs Round 1
Washington Redskins over Atlanta Falcons
St. Louis Rams over New Orleans Saints
Baltimore Ravens over Denver Broncos
Buffalo Bills over Kansas City Chiefs

Round 2
San Francisco 49ers over St. Louis Rams
Minnesota Vikings over Washington Redskins
Cincinnati Bengals over Buffalo Bills
Houston Texans over Baltimore Ravens

NFC Championship
San Francisco 49ers over Minnesota Vikings

AFC Championship
Houston Texans over Cincinnati Bengals

Super Bowl
San Francisco 49ers over Houston Texans

-Noland

Getting Ready For Each NFL Training Camp (NFC Edition)

So it has been a while since I have posted on here and so much has happened. The MLB season is halfway done, the Spurs lost a thrilling 7 game series to the Heat, a record number of Seminoles were picked in the NFL and so much more. No story is more interesting than the fact that football once again is around the corner. With NFL training camp starting this week, I get you ready with my most relevant question (for this blog) for each NFL training camp.

Today I look at the NFC Teams. Tomorrow, will be our AFC Edition.


NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
Is Tony Romo worth all that money?
Short answer is no. Romo is not worth that money, but it will be the story all training camp long and into the season.

New York Giants
Honestly this is the camp that probably means the least to us here at RAN (not a good or bad thing), but there still are some interesting things happening at Giants camp.
Will the Giants secondary look improved?
If not, it could be a long season for big blue.

Philadelphia Eagles
Will Ed Wang make the Eagles?
Friend of the blog, Ed Wang, signed with the Eagles in the offseason. We obviously are rooting for him and think he will make it and will be closely monitoring the story.

Washington Redskins
Will Brandon Jenkins end up looking like the steal of the draft?
I know what you are thinking; everyone else is talking about RG3 so why aren't you Noland?
1) I want you to get something different out of this blog
2) Brandon Jenkins is a blog favorite
3) With a heavy FSU following, the people want Brandon Jenkins
4) RG3 will be RG3 and there is nothing more to it
5) Brandon Jenkins is a 1st round talent that fell due to injury
Lots of intrigue here. Should be fun to see what Jenkins can do for the Skins.

NFC North
Chicago Bears
Can the Bears replace Urlacher?
Brian Urlacher was another favorite of this blog. He was an impact player and a leader. While I thought he was a bit overrated, I understood the value he brought especially to that team. Eventhough he was old, he will not be that easy to replace. If they can replace Urlacher effectively it will be a huge benefit to the Bears because of how injury prone the middle linebacker was.

Detroit Lions
Does Chris Hope have anything left?
Hope hasn't started a full schedule in two years, but he is a former Super Bowl Champ. He is coming into his 12th NFL season and could be a great addition to a terrible defense. If Hope can replicate his 2010 production Detroit will have a vastly improved secondary.

Green Bay Packers
Will Andrew Datko see the field?
The former 4 yr starter at FSU could help upgrade that line, but how many chances will he get to do so?

Minnesota Vikings
What can we expect from Christian Ponder?
Ponder was hurt for the playoffs last year, but had a great finish to the season other than that. If Ponder can duplicate that success across the whole season, it will quiet the doubters. The former FSU QB can and will have a productive season in my opinion. With the additions of Greg Jennings and Patterson, Ponder has much better weapons this season.

NFC South
Atlanta Falcons
If Jackson goes down who is the running back?
With Steven Jackson's injury history, it will be very interesting to see who the #2 back is for the Falcons. Maybe it is former FSU RB Antone Smith. If Smith gets the opportunity this could be his breakout year.

Carolina Panthers
Will Graham Gano transition to elite kicker?
Gano was the best kicker in the country at Florida State, but hasn't had the most success in the pros. He could take that next step this season.

New Orleans Saints
Will Broderick Bunkley finally break out?
Bunkley has been one of the most disappointing FSU draft picks in recent memory. He was once considered on par with Haloti Ngata and has yet to make a serious impact. Could this finally be his year? If not he may not be in the league much longer.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Can Josh Freeman hold off Mike Glennon?
It seems like Josh Freeman will get this year to prove himself, but what if he struggles heading into his final year? Could the coaches go with Glennon and try to work toward the future if they realize Freeman isn't their guy? I think this is a lot more of a QB battle than most people think.

NFC West
Arizona Cardinals
Can Arians work his magic in a tough division?
We all saw the amazing coaching job that Bruce Arians did with the Colts last year. Can he replicate that magic with the Cardinals in the best division in football. If he does it will make for some disappointed NFC West fans. We may not find out during training camp, but we could find out.

St. Louis Rams
Can Bradford lead the Rams to the playoffs?
I am high on Sam Bradford and always have been. He is a good Christian man and an effective leader. He lead the Rams to the best record against NFC West opponents. Look for him to build on last year's success and lead the Rams to the playoffs.

San Francisco 49ers
Where does Anquan Boldin fit?
Anquan Boldin is one of my favorite football player and he got traded to one of my least favorite teams. It will be interesting to see how the 49ers use him with Crabtree and Davis in the fold. He makes the 49ers offense a joy to watch, that is for sure.

Seattle Seahawks
How disappointed will the Seahawks be with Percy Harvin?
Percy Harvin is being treated like football's greatest weapon heading to Seattle. Let's not forget that this guy has yet to get through a full NFL season. I do not see that changing anytime soon. I hope I am wrong, but don't be surprised if he is out by the end of training camp.

-Noland

What To Look Forward To In 2013

Instead of looking back and seeing how the year went (it was fantastic by the way in sports!!) I thought I would look forward towards what good will be coming in 2013. I'll look at the 3 major sports for both college and pro and a few of the things that we can look forward to.

Major League Baseball

Nolan Reimold Returns

On this blog I am a big Nolan Reimold fan. He is my second favorite Oriole (now that Andino is gone) and is behind only Nick Markakis on my list of Oriole favorites. Before Reimold went down in May, he was the Oriole's best and most reliable hitter. Look up the stats. Reimold would have been an all-star if he stayed healthy and kept that pace up. This guy can just flat out hit. Imagine the production if he stays healthy. Unfortunately, it is a big if, but we are being optimistic. Oh ya, Markakis returns too!

Full Season of Manny Machado

Manny Machado was brought up late in the year for the Orioles and stabilized their defense. The guy saved the Orioles from what was a disaster at 3rd. Very excited to see what the youngster will do with a full season at 3rd. He is the best non-pitching prospect the Orioles have had in a very long time.

Buster Posey is Back!!!

Buster will try to defend his MVP award in 2013. The guy is an animal. He is also one of the classiest athletes in professional sports. Oh and he is a Seminole! Buster Posey has played two full seasons in Major League Baseball. The Giants have won the World Series in each of Posey's full seasons.

NFL

Christian Ponder Makes Playoff Debut

This may not be very exciting for all NFL fans, but as a CP7 fan and a Seminole alumni, I am psyched for Ponder's playoff debut. The guy is all class and I love that the Vikings are going to the playoffs. Sure, Peterson is the big success story with Minnesota this year, but the Vikings don't beat Houston without that performance from Ponder. Ponder played very well the last two weeks, and I hope it continues this week. This is certainly one game I will be looking forward to this weekend.

Peyton Is Still Great

Peyton Manning is back and almost as good as ever. He led the Broncos to the top seed in the AFC and looks poised to make another Super Bowl run. How can you not be intrigued by this guy's return to the playoffs. A possible game with the Patriots must have ESPN going nuts.

Alfred Morris Is On A Mission

Alfred Morris is a terrific running back and one of the great steals of this past year's draft. He also seems very motivated by his Pro Bowl snub. It will be tough for Seattle to stop Morris and RG3, but they will have to try. This seems to be the game to watch in the 1st round of the playoffs.

NBA

The Spurs Teamwork

Some may call it boring, but I call it the best teamwork in sports. This team is so unselfish and so great and it is something to watch. I cannot wait to see if Pop is able to deliver another title this season. The way this team plays basketball is like poetry in motion. I look forward to more Spurs basketball in 2013.

One Year Closer to David Stern's Retirement

I have not left my feelings for commissioner Stern unknown. Check out my previous entry on him if you want to know more about that. This guy has got to go so the best team can actually win. We can see the Spurs hold that trophy once again if the commish leaves.

College Baseball

#11 Goes For The Title

The Seminoles beloved baseball coach, who I am a big fan of here, goes for that coveted title. This is my #1 team if I had to pick the team I most want to win. Mike Martin is such a loyal and good man. Martin is one of my role models in coaching. A famous quote of his is "there is never a wrong time to do the right thing." A guy like that really deserves to win the big one.

College Football

One Year Closer to Louisville in the ACC

This team should help end the hate against the ACC. Losing Maryland and gaining Louisville was a huge get for the conference. Louisville is much more legit than Louisville. This will help stop the strength of schedule questions that plagued the Seminoles this season. Teddy Bridgewater coming to the ACC sounds big. Pittsburgh and Syracuse join next year too which is also exciting. Both are solid enough that they add another legit opponent.

One Year Closer to a Playoff

Personally I wanted to see Notre Dame play Kansas State or Oregon for the national title. The playoff will help determine which one truly deserves the opportunity. Even if it is Alabama or Florida, I prefer it get settled on the field some way. The playoff is coming soon.

Seminoles Look Strong

The Seminoles had the #1 recruiting class 2 years ago, the #2 class last year and will likely add another top 10 class this year. These Noles look pretty good. They are already 1-0 in 2013 too. Must be a good omen for things to come. I sure will miss Lonnie Pryor though.

Nothing excites me about College Basketball right now.

-Noland

I Believe In EJ Manuel

Yesterday, following a 69-3 win by Florida State, several FSU fans seemed rather upset. Judging by some of their comments you would think we had lost the game. Sure it was just Murray State, but let's take a step back for a second. Most of these negative comments involved quaterback EJ Manuel. All of those nasty comments about EJ were rather unfair.

Let's look at the facts. EJ did not have his best game yesterday.  He wasn't awful though. His record as starting QB now sits at 14-4. That track record should have Noles fans excited. This guy is the most successful quarterback by record since Weinke. Also if you want to look at accuracy, his career completion percentage is 66.1%. That percentage is best in FSU history. Yes, that percentage is higher than Ward, Weinke, Weldon, Johnson, Kannell, Busby, and Ponder. This guy can lead. If you want to look at last year, he only lost 1 game in which he was able to play the whole way through. Additionally, he played through an injury for a large portion of that season. Also for pass efficiency he is 3rd in ACC history currently, behind only Chris Weinke and Joe Hamilton. Hamilton almost won a Heisman and Weinke did.

Look, I realize the backup QB is usually the most popular person in football, but let's not get crazy here. Trickett while also capable in my opinion, cannot do the same things EJ can. Do not forget that Clint Trickett is a bit undersized and 0-2 as a starter. Do not pin that loss to Wake on EJ. He was hurt, came in late, and still almost led the comeback. There is absolutely no QB controversy. Clint Trickett is no more deserving of an opportunity now than EJ was in the Ponder years. Some of the same people begging for EJ then are now calling for his head now. Absolutely insane. I like Trickett, but it is not his time yet.

Manuel has beaten West Virginia, Clemson, Florida, and South Carolina in his short time as starter. Let's have some faith and realize he is the guy.

Do I think EJ Manuel is currently the best QB in the country? No.
Do I think he is the best player on this team? No.
Do I think he is capable of leading FSU back to the National Title? You better believe it.

Sure, FSU might not win it all. Sure they may lose a game or two. Clemson and Virginia Tech are looking very very tough. However, if they do not win it all this year, it will not be because of EJ Manuel starting over Clint Trickett. The backup will have his time and can win if need be, but to say he is better is just foolish. Let's appreciate this future NFL QB a little more than some of us appreciated Christian Ponder. I know this is not all of the Seminole faithful, but it is some. To all those that believe, keep being supportive of EJ and let him know we got his back. I like our chances this season, and EJ is a big reason why.
Go Noles!!!

-Noland

Jaws Talks Ponder

Over on espn.com, Ron Jaworski is breaking down the NFL's best QB's. Jaws is usually pretty good at breaking down the position and is releasing one name a day so I was intrigued when I saw he was doing this. Luckily, when I found out about this analysis, Jaws was done breaking down my favorite NFL QB.

That QB is former FSU standout Christian Ponder. The current Minnesota Viking went to my church when I was in Tallahassee. He is a great football player and a great guy. However, you don't want to hear my analysis you want the analysis of Jaws.

The full article is here. I will break down some key points to the breakdown in this post. Ponder checked in @ #28 on Jaw's countdown. Really, 28 QBs better than Christian Ponder? I understand not putting him in the upper half because he is a rookie, but 28 guys better? That would mean that Ponder is only better than 4 starters. I can name 10 teams that don't have a better QB than Ponder.

Washington
Dallas
Tampa Bay
San Francisco
Arizona
Seattle
New York Jets
Miami
Buffalo
Tennessee
Jacksonville
Indy
Cleveland

That is just the teams that have QBs that are currently worse than Ponder. We aren't even talking about potential of Ponder as a starter. That is 13 teams. So by that standard Ponder should be no lower than 19th on the countdown. 19 is 9 spots higher than he is currently. I understand Alex Smith and Tony Romo being ranked higher out of those teams, but that is it. Personally, I think both teams would be far better without those two, but I understand why some people like them. Other than that, how do you not have Ponder higher? Heck, I'll give you  Flynn and Sanchez. Giving you those 4 QBs though, Ponder should still be nowhere below 23rd.

Anyways, back to Jaws analysis. Here are some quotes from Jaworski...
"Ponder has many of the attributes I look for when I evaluate quarterbacks. I saw pocket movement, the ability to move within the pocket, maintain downfield focus and deliver the football with accuracy. I also saw the added dimension of getting outside the pocket in response to pressure with the speed to create an explosive gain. And how about this for a rookie quarterback: Ponder’s rating was 114, the NFL’s best inside the 20. His movement was also a big factor, as was his willingness to make stick throws into those small windows, a necessity in the tight red zone area. …

As he begins his second season, Ponder needs work as a progression reader. He had a tendency to predetermine some throws, and, in addition, there were too many times he did not recognize the coverage."

It will sure be interesting to see if Ponder can prove some of the haters wrong. Jaws seems to think the right things in regards to Ponder, but he missed the mark some as well. Even Jaws admits that Ponder had the highest QB rating of anyone inside the 20. Additionally, Ponder had a horrible o-line last year. The guy can play. This year he will prove Jaws sold him short.

-Noland

Vikings WR Suspended 3 Games

Things just got more difficult for Christian Ponder. One of his top receivers, Jerome Simpson, just got suspended for three games. Simpson received the suspension after drug charges came his way. The WR  received a 2.5 lb bag of marijuana at his house. What an idiot. Jerome Simpson is most famous for an amazing touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals while he was with Cincinnati. That is pictured below.

-Noland