Fanspeak’s Weekly Roundtable Debate
An open debate with some of our favorite bloggers! Give your opinion below!
1. How long can the Broncos survive running the option offense with Tim Tebow?
BELTWAY BOY – BELTWAY BOY SPORTS:
It’s going to be interesting to watch Tim Tebow develop. He’s never going to be a traditional QB, but I think he’ll improve over time. The guy is 4-1 this year and makes things happen in crunch time. In his 2 years in the NFL he’s 5-3 as a starter with 12 TD passes and 4 Int’s plus 9 rushing TD’s.
ROB YUNICH – STORMING THE CREASE:
An option offense is not sustainable in the NFL. If you look at the Super Bowl-winning QBs of the last 10 years or so (Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Big Ben, the Manning brothers), you notice that they’re all great passers who can run when necessary. Tebow can’t pass very well. Case closed.
ALAN ZLOTORZYNSKI – ZLOT SPORTS:
The Denver Broncos will survive with Tim Tebow running the option until the end of this season. Apparently Denver is all in with Tebow time now, especially after waiving Kyle Orton today. Despite the Broncos four wins having come vs. teams that are a combined 18-22 this season, three of them have come on the road. Well two of them if you actually count the Miami as a road game. The option will allow Denver to hang around most of their remaining games. However, I don’t see more than a 7-9 finish being possible.
I think the Broncos can ’survive’ for the rest of this season, but if they don’t have a traditional passing attack next year it could get ugly. Tebow can always have a run option element in the offense, but that only is going to work if you are a threat to throw the ball down the field.
2. What are your thoughts on the Astros moving to the American League in 2013, and year round interleague play?
BELTWAY BOY – BELTWAY BOY SPORTS:
The Astros moving to the AL is good for baseball and I have no problem with interleague play all season. The NL had 16 teams and the AL 14 for many years. The powers that be in MLB learned their lessons by cancelling the World Series years ago and didn’t want to go down that road again.
Here’s a couple more things I’d like to see the league make: Stop letting the All-Star game decide home field in the World Series. I also would like to see the NL add the DH or the AL drop it. I hope the NL will add the DH b/c I think it adds excitement.
ROB YUNICH – STORMING THE CREASE:
The Astros moving to the AL makes sense because they’ll have a good – if not great – rivalry with the Texas Rangers. I think interleague play has run its course, though, so extending it over the course of the season is a bit extreme. However, if the two leagues can agree on the role of the DH (or the elimination of it), then it’ll be better. In case it matters, I vote against having a DH.
ALAN ZLOTORZYNSKI – ZLOT SPORTS:
Perpetual Interleague Play is a bad thing for baseball purist, but a great overall change for the game of Baseball. In order to keep up with the growing demands of economic change in the sport, more of change was needed from the very traditional game we know. Perpetual Interleague Play, may force National League teams to employ a designated hitter full time, which means extended playing careers for some stars, and A.L teams may be forced to use the classic double switch on opening day. Interleague Play has help boost attendance figures every year since it was introduced in 1997, and I know greedy unsympathetic owners like the Orioles Peter Angelos, may not mind having his ballpark, which is usually empty, filled for a game vs. the Mets, or Dodgers during the third week of May.The Astros move was inevitable as the leagues needed to have an equal amount of teams. I would have liked to see another California team jump instead of Houston. San Diego, L.A, and San Francisco all play in the N.L, while the Angels play in the A.L. Having one team from each league remain in Texas seemed like a better idea to me. I mean couldn’t the Padres also have moved to A.L west as Houston did? Adding another Wild card team is also a good move for baseball.
I would have looked to move maybe Arizona, but with the Astros for sale the MLB had leverage to force a move. They will have a natural rival in the Rangers, and Houston will probably benefit from having a DH, since their ball park is better for hitters. I like year round interleague play, but I think there will be complaints as some teams are looking to clinch and either will have to play with a DH at the end of the year, or without one, while the rest of their competition gets to play it normally.
3. Urban Meyer is rumored to taking the Ohio State job. Assuming this is true do you think this is a good fit for him? Is he a good fit for the school?
ROB YUNICH – STORMING THE CREASE:
Meyer needs to be sure that he’s over his health problems and any other reason that would cause him not to stay at OSU (or somewhere else) for a long time. He had great success at Florida and Utah, but he hasn’t really stayed anywhere for an extended period of time. He shouldn’t dangle hope for a great university if it’s only going to be for a couple years before the next opportunity comes along.
ALAN ZLOTORZYNSKI – ZLOT SPORTS:
Meyer is an Ohio Native and and an alumnus of the University of Cincinnati, where he played college football. If Meyer’s reasoning to leave the University of Florida was accurate (his family and his poor health) then I’m not sure two years has fixed those problems. I always suspected he was simply burned out and just needed some time. Meyer would be a great fit at Ohio State and restore pride to an embarrassed institution in terms of their football program right now.
I think Meyer is a great fit for the school and he can bring an effective spread attack back to Ohio State. As for it being a fit for him I don’t know. Ohio State can still recruit, but right now that job isn’t as nice considering all the baggage that is still involved.
4. Why do you think the MLB labor negotiations were so tame compared to those of the NBA and NFL?
ROB YUNICH – STORMING THE CREASE:
Baseball pretty much knew what needed to be done and had a good system they wanted to keep. Yes, they’re the only major professional sports league without a salary cap, but they’ve got a good revenue sharing system and were able to add some new wrinkles. NFL and NBA players were, quite frankly, extremely greedy and, in the case of the NBA, might not be able to see the bigger picture. The NFL didn’t lose any regular season games so they were able to make things work just in time. The NHL’s deal expires at the end of the current season, so that’s something to watch as well.
ALAN ZLOTORZYNSKI – ZLOT SPORTS:
I simply think that after the way the negotiations of the past 40 years were handled labor harmony was bound to eventually happen. Commissioner Selig was right when he said,”Nobody back in the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s, 1994, would ever believe that we would have 21 years of labor peace,” It’s a good thing,and I think a lot of players realize that baseball is headed for a very real growth spurt. The last two seasons have taught a lot of fans that parity can be had, which calms cries for salary caps and allows baseball to stay with the luxury tax on payrolls instead.
I think both the players and the league realized that the fan’s don’t want to see them ’make the sausage’ so to speak. They both realized that neither side would be 100% happy with the deal, but looked to find the best compromise so that there wouldn’t be a long drawn out process, that only hurts the players and the owners. Also I think unlike the NBA they don’t look back at their last labor stoppage with many fond memories.
5. Who is the most dominant player in college basketball?
ROB YUNICH – STORMING THE CREASE:
I’d have to say Jared Sullinger of Ohio State, but with a caveat. Unlike the NBA, college basketball is a true team game where one player can’t win a title by himself. (OK, it’s rare in the NBA, but you get my drift.) Yes, there are exceptions (such as Carmelo Anthony on Syracuse’s 2003 title team), but for the most part, it’s rare. (Don’t forget about Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara on that SU team.) That being said, Sullinger is a special talent who probably has a long pro career ahead of him (assuming the NBA ever works out its labor strife). But Ohio State is in a tough league and there are no breaks in college basketball these days. That’s why they call it March Madness.
ALAN ZLOTORZYNSKI – ZLOT SPORTS:
To be honest, I have no idea. I have not watched enough college basketball to formulate a valid opinion. However, I’m sure that the answer to this question is either in Chapel Hill North Carolina or somewhere on John Calipari’s team in Lexington Kentucky.
It’s early, but I’m going to say Jared Sullinger from Ohio State steps into his own and dominates the conference this year.
Related Articles
