Quote from: frank uible on November 15, 2012, 06:24:16 PM
All conference and other "all" teams are produced through a combination of good intentions, petty politics, sometimes commercial considerations and easy convenience with an almost total absence of the excruciating time consuming, truly hard work needed to get it as nearly right as possible.
Hello NESCAC Football Family. I have been following this board throughout the season, and decided to add my thoughts as the season is complete. My background: I'm a former Bantam (15+ years out), living and working in Asia for five years. Late night webcasts are a good way to keep in touch with the game, and I have enjoyed doing so this season.
First, let me leave a disclaimer: I respect all football players on each team, and my opinions on a college, team, portion of a team, or individual player, however seemingly critical, are not to be taken personally as I respect this league and its true form of student-athletics immensely. I'm from New England, I don't pull punches, but its all in good fun. So to the parents, relatives, and at times players themselves (who should be in the weight room an not concerned what we "has-beens" are saying), its all in the spirit of promoting a fun exchange between members of the best collegiate athletic conference in the country. (more New England sarcasm in each and every post).
So with that, I have followed Frank's comment, as I completely agree that these All-NESCAC teams are of the "feel good" nature, similar to the mantra by which the NESCAC listed standings in Alphabetical order during my day as a student athlete. Upon further, and deeper, inquiry, we may find some riveting details about actual performance. The first of which is this:
McCallum Foote is not even the best Quarterback in the NESCAC! Let alone the best offensive player!
(listen quietly....you can hear kitten teardrops tapping the floor)
Ok, is that a tough statement to digest? Let's see what the rest of the statistics from NCAA Stats and NESCAC Stats tell us:
Ryan Burgess:
Attempt to TD Ratio: 9.81 (Foote 12.97)
Yards per Completion: 16.4 (Foote 11.3)
Passer Rating: 158.97 (Foote 145.81)
Passing Efficiency: 21st in Nation (Foote: 52nd in Nation)
170 Rushing Yards (positive yards - gross sacks), One Rushing Touchdown
Zero Fumbles on the Season (Foote: 2)
-Directed 3rd Highest Offensive Production in History of NESCAC (3,720 yards)
-Three 4th-Quarter Comebacks, against the Little Three. NESCAC #3 Amherst(Home), #4 Wesleyan(Road), and #6 Williams(Road). These teams held the #2, #4, and #5 defense by points allowed, respectively.
-Responsible for all four offensive TDs in those fourth quarter comebacks. *Can anyone name a team aside from Trinity that has beaten the Little Three in one season? Has it happened?* Burgess did it on his own shoulders, with two wins on the road.
-Led Team to Undefeated Season and NESCAC Championship
Trinity Offensive Yardage: 40% Pass, 60% Run offensive yards (Middlebury 80% Pass, 20% Rush)
McCallum Foote:
(reference the dissertation of reasons and statistics posted by other members)
-Foote is a system Quarterback, whose numbers are marginally better than the QB that came immediately before him. See: Graham Harrell, Colt Brennan, Timmy Chang, Chase Daniel.
(I can sense the blood boiling in the Green Mountain State). :-)
For the sake of argument since the votes have already been counted..........
Offensive Player of the Year Quarterfinal: (all are very deserving)
Bunker
Burgess
Driscoll
Foote
Offensive Player of the Year Final: Bunker v. Foote
Bunker (159.4 Rushing Yards Per Game)
Bunker did all this while sharing carries with two other All-NESCAC running backs in his backfield.
Foote (362.1 Passing Yards Per Game, 63.7% Completion percentage)
Let's see how these two stack up in prime-time:
Bunker vs. #1 Rushing Defense Amherst, 215 yards (134.9% of his average)
Bunker vs. #2 Rushing Defense Bates, 146 yards (91.6% of his average)
Bunker vs. #3 Rushing Defense Wesleyan, 139 yards (87.2% of his average)
Foote vs. #1 Passing Defense Trinity: 133 yards (36.7% of his average), 47.40% completion percentage (74.43% of his average)
Foote vs. #2 Passing Defense Bowdoin: 285 yards (78.7% of his average), 59.1% completion percentage (92.8% of his average)
Foote vs. #3 Passing Defense Amherst: 379 yards (104.1% of his average), 65% completion percentage (102.1% of his average)
And the winner is: Trinity. 8-0 NESCAC Champs!
Individual honors are nice but Football, the greatest team sport in the world, should be left on the field. Makes no difference to 99% of the players in the League, nor should it.
Although, I look forward to all of your responses.
Three Final Comments:
McCallum Foote: Incredible Year, Exceptional Performance, Bravo! Same to the all the Panthers (and to the Bates Bobcats). Good year for cats. ....ok, I just pulled a punch
(Cant believe I'm saying this, but it's true): Drew and Gibson from Wesleyan got no respect in the All-NESCAC teams....they deserve recognition, despite injuries and sharing carries, each had very good production, created strong TOP numbers for Wesleyan, and helped secure their best season in recent memory.
Congrats Bants! Hell of a season! Well earned through hard work, teamwork, study, and undying Bantam spirit! Your off-season, practice, film, and in-game efforts are the reason that our Alma Mater has won 91% of its games in the past decade, and 80% of its games in the last 25 years. .......oh, yeah, and we're "dummer" than everyone else. :-)