BlogPoll Roundtable, the brainchild of BlogPoll superhero Brian over at mgoblog, is an effort to generate discourse on a series of questions and issues currently applicable to the college football universe.
This edition of the BlogPoll Roundtable is hosted by HeismanPundit.com. To read responses of other bloggers to the roundtable questions, simply click here.
What criteria do you use to determine if a team and its players are good?
It’s difficult to answer this question without bifurcating the answer. Since there can be no absolute criteria for determining whether a team or a particular player is talented, any kind of analysis must turn on both subjective and objective reasoning, with the latter often influencing the former.
In terms of an objective analysis, the disparity between points scored and points yielded is a necessary stopping point when determining whether a team is “good.” Granted, this is very Pythagorean in nature, but it does give great indication as to the particular performance of one club compared to another. After this initial examination, the other signposts of note are ability to win on the road, head-to-head results, and the ability of a particular team to impose its offensive or defensive will on an opponent by sticking to its chosen philosophy.
When thinking about players objectively, the focus should be almost exclusively on per play production (points per play, yards per play, etc.) and the relative strength of the opponent attempting to stop (or defeat for that matter) that player. Also, it may be helpful to look at the percentage of offense or defense that the player is responsible for.
Subjective team analysis, as mentioned earlier, is premised on intuition buttressed by objective analysis. Often times, injury, fatigue and other intangibles are difficult to illustrate in an objective analysis. However, any kind of subjective formulation naturally takes these intangibles into account. The best way to illustrate this kind of evaluation is by asking the question “If Team A had Player B, and Variable C was not in play, would Team A or Player B beat or be better than Team D or Player E?”
A subjective player analysis would proceed in the same manner as a team analysis. Compared to another player, would a particular player be as, more, or less successful than the aforementioned footballer if they were competing in a neutral environment. For example, would Damien Rhodes be as successful as Reggie Bush if Rhodes had the same talent around him as Bush does?
If you could choose one coach to build an offensive system for your school, who would it be? Conversely, who would you choose to devise the defense? Why?
If there were only one offensive coach I could choose, it would be Tom Osborne.
[Enter muffled groans here.]
I have been and always will be a lifelong supporter of the option offense. I love it, and nobody was better at crafting and stubbornly sticking to the attack than Tom Osborne. The way Osborne was able to generate success with such an out of date offense in contemporary football times is a testament to his coaching ability.
Of course, if I had to choose a coach that is currently in the game of football, whether professional or collegiate, I’d go with Norm Chow. Chow’s resume speaks for itself. Everyone on the planet has seen his system, yet nobody can stop it. Furthermore, if you can make Ty Detmer a Heisman Trophy winner, you are the greatest offensive mind in the history of football.
If there were only one defensive coach I could choose, it would be Nick Saban.
The guy lives and breathes defense, and nobody seems to get as much out of his players as Saban does. Saban was able to use his progressive defensive philosophies to turn Michigan State and LSU into defensive stalwarts during his brief tenures, which makes his accomplishments all the more impressive. Plus, Saban has Syracuse roots, which is always nice.
If I was pressured to select a current college coach to tend to the Syracuse defense, I’d probably go with Ed Orgeron down at Mississippi. As another guy with Syracuse roots, his aggressive defensive attitude would fit perfectly on the Carrier Dome carpet. Granted, a lot of Orgeron’s talent may be attributed to Pete Carroll, but you can’t argue with the talent that Orgeron was able to develop on USC’s defensive line.
Describe your typical college football Saturday.
9:00 – Wake Up
9:01 – Commence rumination on how Syracuse will ruin the rest of my Saturday
12:00 – Football, preferably of the Orange variety
Rest of Day – Commence rumination on how Syracuse ruined the rest of my Saturday
This edition of the BlogPoll Roundtable is hosted by HeismanPundit.com. To read responses of other bloggers to the roundtable questions, simply click here.
What criteria do you use to determine if a team and its players are good?
It’s difficult to answer this question without bifurcating the answer. Since there can be no absolute criteria for determining whether a team or a particular player is talented, any kind of analysis must turn on both subjective and objective reasoning, with the latter often influencing the former.
In terms of an objective analysis, the disparity between points scored and points yielded is a necessary stopping point when determining whether a team is “good.” Granted, this is very Pythagorean in nature, but it does give great indication as to the particular performance of one club compared to another. After this initial examination, the other signposts of note are ability to win on the road, head-to-head results, and the ability of a particular team to impose its offensive or defensive will on an opponent by sticking to its chosen philosophy.
When thinking about players objectively, the focus should be almost exclusively on per play production (points per play, yards per play, etc.) and the relative strength of the opponent attempting to stop (or defeat for that matter) that player. Also, it may be helpful to look at the percentage of offense or defense that the player is responsible for.
Subjective team analysis, as mentioned earlier, is premised on intuition buttressed by objective analysis. Often times, injury, fatigue and other intangibles are difficult to illustrate in an objective analysis. However, any kind of subjective formulation naturally takes these intangibles into account. The best way to illustrate this kind of evaluation is by asking the question “If Team A had Player B, and Variable C was not in play, would Team A or Player B beat or be better than Team D or Player E?”
A subjective player analysis would proceed in the same manner as a team analysis. Compared to another player, would a particular player be as, more, or less successful than the aforementioned footballer if they were competing in a neutral environment. For example, would Damien Rhodes be as successful as Reggie Bush if Rhodes had the same talent around him as Bush does?
If you could choose one coach to build an offensive system for your school, who would it be? Conversely, who would you choose to devise the defense? Why?
If there were only one offensive coach I could choose, it would be Tom Osborne.
[Enter muffled groans here.]
I have been and always will be a lifelong supporter of the option offense. I love it, and nobody was better at crafting and stubbornly sticking to the attack than Tom Osborne. The way Osborne was able to generate success with such an out of date offense in contemporary football times is a testament to his coaching ability.
Of course, if I had to choose a coach that is currently in the game of football, whether professional or collegiate, I’d go with Norm Chow. Chow’s resume speaks for itself. Everyone on the planet has seen his system, yet nobody can stop it. Furthermore, if you can make Ty Detmer a Heisman Trophy winner, you are the greatest offensive mind in the history of football.
If there were only one defensive coach I could choose, it would be Nick Saban.
The guy lives and breathes defense, and nobody seems to get as much out of his players as Saban does. Saban was able to use his progressive defensive philosophies to turn Michigan State and LSU into defensive stalwarts during his brief tenures, which makes his accomplishments all the more impressive. Plus, Saban has Syracuse roots, which is always nice.
If I was pressured to select a current college coach to tend to the Syracuse defense, I’d probably go with Ed Orgeron down at Mississippi. As another guy with Syracuse roots, his aggressive defensive attitude would fit perfectly on the Carrier Dome carpet. Granted, a lot of Orgeron’s talent may be attributed to Pete Carroll, but you can’t argue with the talent that Orgeron was able to develop on USC’s defensive line.
Describe your typical college football Saturday.
9:00 – Wake Up
9:01 – Commence rumination on how Syracuse will ruin the rest of my Saturday
12:00 – Football, preferably of the Orange variety
Rest of Day – Commence rumination on how Syracuse ruined the rest of my Saturday
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