Some relevant information during slow Spring Ball period relevant to Pitt. Some info on Pitt's Opponents with Syracuse looking like Coach Babers is turning around the program. As well as, some Hot Seat gloom and doom on Penn State. Looks like CBS's Dennis Dodd's Long Ears has heard the echoes of discontent with Franklin at Penn State. A tidbit on Big-12 Expansion relevant to recent discussions on the Lair. Finally a Robot Tackling Machine replacing the teaching of Players tackling Players at practices?
Excerpt & Link:
3. No tackle zone: Some Dartmouth engineers have built a robotic tackling dummy that is threatening to revolutionize the game. Last week, the Big Green's conference -- the Ivy League -- said it would stop tackling in practice. It all has to do with the increasing concern over head trauma. The inventors of the Mobile Virtual Player took the MVP to the American Football Coaches Association in January. “It blew the ceiling off,” said John Currier CEO of MVP LLC. “Coaches were standing around with their cell phones filming it.” Is this the end of tackling as we know it? It sure seems like we're trending that way. Chuck Bednarik may be turning over in his grave. Meanwhile, the MVP folks are spending part of the spring hawking their device to some Big Ten and NFL coaches. We know Michigan State is interested. Never thought we'd see the day, Mark Dantonio.
7. Big 12 expansion: The spring will not end without the Big 12 getting close to deciding something about its future. The league is considering some combination of expansion and/or a conference network and/or a conference championship game. Watch the Big 12 spring meetings, May 31-June 2 in Dallas, closely. A final decision should come this summer. There hasn't been this much realignment upheaval since The Great Reshuffling of 2010-11.
12. James Conner's courage, squared: You may have heard Pittsburgh's tailback has vowed to play in 2016 despite a diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Your jaw may drop when you realize he's working out with his teammates this spring while undergoing chemo.
16. Is Penn State “back?” Since the Jerry Sandusky sanctions in 2012, the Nittany Lions have a better winning percentage than Auburn and Texas. In that span, they've won one fewer game (29) than Miami, which had its own off-field problems. Penn State has avoided dipping below .500 since Joe Paterno's departure. However, there is some feeling that the worst is yet to come because of the cumulative effects of the penalties. Don't tell that to coach James Franklin, who lost defensive coordinator Bob Shoop and quarterback Christian Hackenberg. Seventeen starters return. The offensive line can't be much worse. Ohio State and Michigan State visit Happy Valley. It will be interesting to see what the Nits consider success this season. I'm betting that a third consecutive 7-6 season won't be it.
24. The most exciting team to watch in the spring will be … Syracuse. This is not necessarily a prediction that the Orange will be successful in Dino Babers' first year. It is a prediction that watching Babers install his spread attack will be like transforming a block of granite into an Olympic sprinter. Interesting, to say the least. In two years at Bowling Green, Babers took the Falcons to two MAC title games, winning one. His offense averaged more than 42 points per game last season. Before that, Babers was an FCS whiz at Eastern Illinois. Naked eye inspection: Syracuse remains one of the slowest teams in the country. That will change. With Cuse considering a massive Carrier Dome upgrade, Babers' offense could fall in line with a massive Orange turnaround on the field. It may not happen quickly, but eventually under Babers, the Orange will at least be quick.
LINK:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...ts-chasing-alabama-qb-battles-and-new-coaches
Excerpt & Link:
3. No tackle zone: Some Dartmouth engineers have built a robotic tackling dummy that is threatening to revolutionize the game. Last week, the Big Green's conference -- the Ivy League -- said it would stop tackling in practice. It all has to do with the increasing concern over head trauma. The inventors of the Mobile Virtual Player took the MVP to the American Football Coaches Association in January. “It blew the ceiling off,” said John Currier CEO of MVP LLC. “Coaches were standing around with their cell phones filming it.” Is this the end of tackling as we know it? It sure seems like we're trending that way. Chuck Bednarik may be turning over in his grave. Meanwhile, the MVP folks are spending part of the spring hawking their device to some Big Ten and NFL coaches. We know Michigan State is interested. Never thought we'd see the day, Mark Dantonio.
7. Big 12 expansion: The spring will not end without the Big 12 getting close to deciding something about its future. The league is considering some combination of expansion and/or a conference network and/or a conference championship game. Watch the Big 12 spring meetings, May 31-June 2 in Dallas, closely. A final decision should come this summer. There hasn't been this much realignment upheaval since The Great Reshuffling of 2010-11.
12. James Conner's courage, squared: You may have heard Pittsburgh's tailback has vowed to play in 2016 despite a diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Your jaw may drop when you realize he's working out with his teammates this spring while undergoing chemo.
16. Is Penn State “back?” Since the Jerry Sandusky sanctions in 2012, the Nittany Lions have a better winning percentage than Auburn and Texas. In that span, they've won one fewer game (29) than Miami, which had its own off-field problems. Penn State has avoided dipping below .500 since Joe Paterno's departure. However, there is some feeling that the worst is yet to come because of the cumulative effects of the penalties. Don't tell that to coach James Franklin, who lost defensive coordinator Bob Shoop and quarterback Christian Hackenberg. Seventeen starters return. The offensive line can't be much worse. Ohio State and Michigan State visit Happy Valley. It will be interesting to see what the Nits consider success this season. I'm betting that a third consecutive 7-6 season won't be it.
24. The most exciting team to watch in the spring will be … Syracuse. This is not necessarily a prediction that the Orange will be successful in Dino Babers' first year. It is a prediction that watching Babers install his spread attack will be like transforming a block of granite into an Olympic sprinter. Interesting, to say the least. In two years at Bowling Green, Babers took the Falcons to two MAC title games, winning one. His offense averaged more than 42 points per game last season. Before that, Babers was an FCS whiz at Eastern Illinois. Naked eye inspection: Syracuse remains one of the slowest teams in the country. That will change. With Cuse considering a massive Carrier Dome upgrade, Babers' offense could fall in line with a massive Orange turnaround on the field. It may not happen quickly, but eventually under Babers, the Orange will at least be quick.
LINK:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...ts-chasing-alabama-qb-battles-and-new-coaches
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