Top Ten College QB's

Most years the top college quarterbacks are usually in the running for the Heisman Trophy. Here are my top ten:

record…QB…team…tough opposition

8-3 Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M vs Bama, LSU, Auburn

9-2 Marcus Mariota, Oregon vs Stanford, UCLA, USC

11-0 AJ McCarron, Alabama vs Texas A&M, LSU

11-0 Jameis Winston, FSU vs Clemson

7-4 Aaron Murray, Georgia vs Clemson, LSU, Missouri, SC, Auburn

10-1 Tajh Boyd, Clemson vs UGA, FSU

10-1 Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville vs ?

 8-3 Brett Hundley, UCLA vs Oregon   

10-1 Bryce Petty, Baylor vs OK State

11-0 Braxton Miller, Ohio State vs ?

Manziel won the Heisman last year, then put up even better numbers this year – despite facing a tough SEC schedule and constant media spotlight. He leads the nation in total touchdown responsibility, and is the most exciting football player in the country. Manziel deserves another Heisman, but some won’t vote for him. Games to play: Missouri, bowl game.

Marcus Mariota’s great stats merit Heisman consideration, though Oregon’s two losses have hurt his candidacy. It shouldn’t – he deserves to be in the top three.

AJ McCarron: Has undefeated Alabama in the running for their third national championship under his watch. Has only lost two games in his career. Deserves a top three Heisman finish, more so than Winston, Petty, or Bridgewater. Games to play: Auburn, SEC Championship, BCS Championship.

This week the Sports Illustrated cover jinx reared it's ugly head on McCarron and Alabama.

Winston had led the nation in passing and thrown for the most touchdowns. Has led FSU to an undefeated season, but in the weak ACC. His legal troubles could make him ineligible at any time, and greatly diminish his Heisman hopes. Games to play: Florida, ACC Championship, BCS Championship.

Aaron Murray: One of two QB’s in NCAA history to throw for over 3000 yards in four seasons, and ranks in the top five in all-time career passing yards – despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the country without 4-5 of his best offensive weapons most of the year. Games to play: none.

Boyd has put up great numbers, playing mostly an easy ACC schedule. Topped 10,000 yards in career passing – one of only 18 in history to achieve this feat. His team beat Georgia, but were blown out by FSU. Games to play: South Carolina, bowl game.  

Teddy Bridgewater: Has led Louisville to a 10-1 record, but against weak competition. His 71% completion percentage leads the nation.  

Brett Hundley has been one of the best players on the West Coast, which will earn him some Heisman votes. Has good numbers, but UCLA’s 8-3 record fails to put him in the top three. Games to play: USC, bowl game.

Petty’s gaudy stats can be attributed to playing in a pass-happy system against an easy schedule. Baylor’s only loss can against the only good team they played. For these reasons he won’t win the Heisman.

Braxton Miller has led Ohio State to two undefeated seasons, but the Buckeyes have hardly been tested. Miller has missed time due to injury, but will still tally some Heisman votes – particularly in the Midwest. Games to play: Michigan, Michigan State, bowl game.   

PL….att…comp…%.....yards..yd/att..TD..int..rating...sos

JW…199…286…69.6…3168..11.1…32…7…194.7…76

BP….181…282…64.2…3361..11.9…26…1…194.0…65

JM….246…356…69.1…3537…9.9…32..13…174.9…43

TB….233…346…67.3…3248…9.4…29…7…169.8…57…C

MM...210…326…64.4…3127…9.6…27…2…167.1…25

BM…132…195…67.7…1626…8.3…19…4…165.8…67

AJ….190…277…68.6…2399…8.7…23…5…165.1…55

AM…225…347…64.8…3075…8.9…26…9…158.8…10

TB…245…345…71.0…3268…9.5…25…3…156.6..118…L

BH…214…315…67.1…2637…8.4…22…9…155.6.…6

From Forbes

14 Things Successful People do on Weekends, from Forbes.com.

1. Spend time with family.

2. Exercise

3. Pursue a passion

4. Vacation

5. Disconnect from work

6. Volunteer

7. Avoid chores

8. Plan for next week/month/year

9. Socialize

10. Garden / crafts / games / sports / cooking / culture

11. Network/connect with people

12. Reflect

13. Mediate

14. Recharge

Who's the Heisman?

Who is your pick to win the Heisman Trophy? Right now there is no clear-cut candidate. Add your pick to the comments below.

All the inappropriate talk about FSU QB Jameis Winston's legal issues will cost him the Heisman Trophy. With all the other candidates stumbling on the field, the Heisman was Winston's to lose – and he probably will.

Oregon lost their second game, and QB Marcus Mariota had a bad game. He threw only his first interception of the year…on a tipped pass.

Ohio State's Braxton Miller will probably pick up some of the votes from the heartland, as will system QB Bryce Petty from Baylor.

Clemson's Tajh Boyd's four TD passes in the blowout over The Citadel gave him 102 career TD passes. Boyd is one of only 18 college quarterbacks with that achievement. Aaron Murray also one of the eighteen, ranking sixth all-time (Murray's career yards are also in the all-time top ten).

Manziel may still deserve the Heisman for several reasons: his exciting style of play, his overwhelming stats, and great performances against some of the best teams in the country. He gets my vote.

Alabama's AJ McCarron also deserves serious Heisman consideration. His record as a winner is unmatched. He doesn't need to put up huge numbers for his team to win, though his QB rating and completion percentage are among the best in the country. Beating Auburn on Saturday could score him more votes.

With all the candidates in the South splitting the Heisman vote, UCLA's Brett Huntley or Boston College running back Andre Williams could steal the award.

I took the top college QBs and compared their career stats, doubling sophomore Mariota and Manziel's two-year totals and multiplying freshman Winston's eleven game totals by four. It is doubtful that Winston, Mariota, nor Manziel will play four years of college ball, or keep up their current pace. This makes the three senior quarterback's career performances all the more remarkable. Later I will look at just this year's stats.

QB…rating…comp..att…comp %...yards.yd/att..TD..INT
JW….194.7…796…1144…69.6…12672..11.1..128…28
MM…167.1…880…1324…66.5…11608…8.8..118…16
JM.…164.2..1082…1590…68.5…14286…9.2..116…44
AJ…..161.7…650..…967…67.2.….8355…8.6…72…13
AM…158.6.…921…1478…62.3…13166…8.9..121…41
TB….154.8.…851…1335…63.7…11301…8.5..102…35

Career rushing:
2064 Manziel (two seasons)
1281 Mariota (two seasons)
1033 Boyd (four seasons)

Though he's played fewer games than some of his predecessors, Flowery Branch Georgia's Connor Shaw recently became the all-time leading passer in South Carolina school history.

McCann Signs with the Yanks

Great points about McCann….
1. The recognition he receives in New York could put him in more ASG's and the HOF.
2. Yankee Stadium is a great hitters park for lefties, right?
3.The Yankees offered the most money.

I thought living in Dallas might be similar to Atlanta, but his cancer foundation could make a bigger impact in NYC. And in 6 years he can retire back to Atlanta's suburbs or move on to another AL team. His kids will just be starting to play Little League. Brian probably sought counsel from others regarding his decision. The Hudson's loved a faraway city quite different from their rural Alabama roots. McCann's kids are small, so living in NYC won't matter too much. Francoeur played in NYC. I heard Ross was trying to get McCann to sign with Boston. Would've been fun, but I'm sure McCann made the best decision for him and his family. Protection in the lineup, for one.

Sunday night the former GM of the Pats Scott Pioli made similar comments about Wes Welker...that the Pats didn't want to pay an aging receiver big bucks for past performance.


Micah Owings spoke to the PCC youth on Sunday. Former Diamondback pitcher and Silver Slugger Award winner. Saw Owings pinch hit for the Durham Bulls in late August. He had a big cheering section sitting near the Coolray Field visitors dugout. Trying to make it as a position player.

Now that the Yankees signed McCann, where will Robinson Cano sign?

Interesting that Uggla has his house for sale. Best AJC comment: "I didn't see a batting cage." I did see that twitter photo of Freddie, Uggs, and DeRosa working out.

SAT: C and A went to the GA/Kentucky game with Will.
SUN: Will came home. M ate at IHOP with a friend.
MON: W had dentist and eye appointments
TUE: MC arrives from OK.

College Football Roundup

For the first time ever this year Vandy beat Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. And they're still finishing in 4th place in the SEC East. I just hate Vanderbilt. Not because my dad likes them from when he lived in Nashville. Not because Ceil's aunt went there. Hideous uniforms. The coach doesn't seem too obnoxious, though he has the typical assistent coach shaved head. 

All the players whoop and holler and jump up and down and act like they're so superior, when the fact is Vandy is historically a school with a losing record. I know most all football players act like that, but players from winning schools, like the University of Alabama (or even UGA), don't act like that as much.


And what great quarterback ever had a name like Austyn Carta-Samuels? He sounds like a student at Vanderbilt. He does not sound like a football player. Or play like one: he ranks 91st in the nation in Total QB Rating.

Not a huge fan of those grey Volunteer uniforms. Usually the Vols have one of the best uniforms in the country. Shoot me, but I like teams with good uniforms better than teams with ugly uniforms.

Reid's Roundup
1. Loved Georgia Southern over Florida…agree.

2. Hated Saints over Falcons…agree. At least the Falcons made a game of it.
3. Loved Georgia over Kentucky…agree. Hated Aaron Murray getting hurt.
4. Hated FSU over Idaho…disagree.
5. Loved Vandy over Tennessee…disagree. 
6. Hated Miami over Virginia…bad for Tech, but I really didn't care.
7. Loved LSU over Texas A&M…below.
8. Hated Arkansas St over Georgia State…agree
9. Loved Miss. St over Arkansas…I don't like either school. Saw it was on and had nothing to watch, but I still didn't turn it on.
10. Hated Missouri over Mississippi…agree.
11. Loved Ga Tech over Alabama A&M…agree
12. Hated Giants over Dallas…agree. All the calls went the Cowboys way. Loved the 20 yard loss on Dez Bryant's fumble. You saw how cold it was during the game, didn't you?
13. Loved Central Florida over Rutgers…agree.

14. LOVED Oklahoma State over Baylor. This was the game I was waiting for all day. As expected, when the over-hyped Bears finally played a team of substance, they weren't able to keep up. It did seem like several early breaks went Oklahoma State's way, but Baylor was never able to recover.

At noon Saturday there was no game on TV that I wanted to watch. Turned on LSU/Texas A&M at 3:30 and watched, but I really didn't get into it. I like LSU ok. Great uniforms. I like Mettenberger but I'm not a big Les Miles fan. People just don't know that Johnny Manziel is actually having a better season than last year. He leads the country in touchdowns produced. His game Saturday wasn't the greatest, but it's hard for one guy to win every game.

Clemson/The Citadel: Hated the all purple uniforms, even though they were to honor those with Purple Hearts. I can understand Dabo breaking them out for the seniors in a non-televised game. Great that US Army veteran Daniel Rodriguez was able to score a touchdown. With both teams in the running for BCS bowl games, a loss by either Clemson or South Carolina will be heart-breaking.

Ceil and Anna had a good time at the Georgia / Kentucky game. I watched some of it Sunday. The Gurley touchdown where he catapulted over the guy with the ball stretched out in his arm was exactly like Knowshawn Moreno's touchdown against Arizona in the season opener several years ago. With Murray out don't expect any dropoff in quarterback play with Hudson Mason in. Plus teams will be expecting the run, so they'll be caught off guard by Mason's excellent passing all the more.

Tech fans expecting a competitive game will once again have their sheltered college football viewpoint completely exposed. Tech's defense will not be able to stop Georgia offense. Vad Lee does not run the option well enough to beat the Bulldog defense. Paul Johnson won't give Robert Godhigh enough touches, and over-hyped backs Simms and Days will stumble and slip (and probably fumble).

Despite the BCS rankings, a lot could happen before the bowl games are set. The Auburn/Alabama game could go either way. Now Auburn has put themselves into a position where they could possibly play for the national championship should they win out. Ohio State has to get past both Michigan and Michigan State. The Buckeyes may be decent, but a steady diet of weak teams may make them unprepared for the Spartans. The polls and debate over the top two teams will be fierce.

American Music Awards

Saturday C and A left out for Athens. I did a good job spending all afternoon taking pictures of things to sell on eBay. More time-consuming than you would think. Also cleaned up both upstairs and downstairs and did some laundry. Matthew had a friend come for a sleepover, so I had the day to myself. Made a quick run to Publix for $22.00 in groceries.

Sunday I dropped M and his friend off at IHOP (their choice). I grabbed some Taco Bell and later got Moes for Anna. Drove A, M, and the friend down to PCC, read my Curry book, and rode home with Ceil. Didn't make it home in time to get the CRV oil changed. Did more laundry and eBay while watching the NBC pregame.

Ceil cooked spaghetti and meatballs, then everyone watched the American Music Awards. Several "artists" (like Beyonce) have a hard time speaking coherently in public. One winner thanked several other artists, none of whom had normal names. Sounded like baby talk. I know that makes me sound old. Two articulate exceptions: Justin Timberlake and Taylor Swift. Both thought fast on their feet, and were sincere and thankful. Katy Perry's performance was excellent as well.

I stumbled across a complete broadcast of the 1978 GT/GA game. Showed Will what Sanford Stadium looked like with people watching from the railroad tracks and bridge. Georgia turned the ball over 4 times in the first half, including the first 3 possessions – and still won, thanks to freshman QB Buck Belue coming off the bench to spark the win. Great game. I watched the first half last night and will watch the rest over Thanksgiving. Supposedly I was seen on the telecast, sitting in the front row of the rickety end zone stands.

Finished that complicated book on the 2008 financial collapse, and about to start Michael Crichton's Terminal Man. Over Thanksgiving I hope to finish three books: Bill Curry, Frank Sexton, and the Top of the Order baseball book.


Need to try that Bell Street Burritos place down on Peachtree south of Collier Road, in the old Hueys building.

Kelly Vonfeldt returned to SPdL Sunday morning. Her appearance made a minor splash on Facebook yesterday, much more so than any of my recent appearances.

Updated Total QB Rating

Georgia Tech’s Vad Lee continues to plummet toward the bottom of the total QB ratings, which include a running component. Vad is closing in on Tanner Price territory, though the Wake Forest QB is no longer the lowest ranked ACC QB. That honor now belongs to the “gifted” / “talented” / “athletic” Virginia QB David Watford.  

1 92.6 Jameis Winston, FSU

2 91.5 Marcus Mariota, Oregon

3 91.3 Bryce Petty, Baylor

4 87.8 Zach Mettenberger, LSU

5 85.9 Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

6 85.5 Aaron Murray, Georgia

7 84.8 Clint Chelf, Oklahoma State

8 84.4 Braxton Miller, Ohio State

9 82.0 Marquise Williams, North Carolina  

10 81.7 AJ McCarron, Alabama

11 81.4 Joe Southwick, Boise State

12 81.2 Tajh Boyd, Clemson

13 79.2 Blake Bortles, Central Florida

16 78.8 James Franklin, Missouri

18 78.6 Brett Hundley, UCLA

20 77.8 Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville

21 77.1 Nick Marshall, Auburn

23 76.3 Stephen Morris, Miami

28 74.2 Bo Wallace, Ole Miss

32 72.6 Connor Shaw, South Carolina

34 72.2 Case McCoy, Texas

40 68.9 Anthony Boone, Duke

45 67.5 Bryn Renner, North Carolina

48 64.7 Chase Rettig, Boston College

50 64.4 Brandon Connette, Duke

51 64.2 Blake Bell, Oklahoma

56 62.7 Justin Worley, Tennessee

62 61.7 Jalen Whitlow, Kentucky

66 61.2 Terrel Hunt, Syracuse

70 60.3 Devin Gardner, Michigan

75 56.5 Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech

84 50.6 CJ Brown, Maryland

88 49.3 Tyler Murphy, Florida

91 48.8 Austyn Carta-Samuels, Vanderbilt

92 48.7 Pete Thomas, NC State

93 47.8 Christian Hackenberg, Penn State

94 47.6 Vad Lee, Georgia Tech

101 43.4 Colin Reardon, Kentucky

103 41.9 Tanner Price, Wake Forest

105 41.0 David Watford, Virginia

Maddux: Unanimous HOF Choice?

Some say Maddux has a shot and being listed on every ballot. Several voters will probably mess that up. And with Glavine and Bobby also likely inductees, some might leave him off the ballot because they don’t want too many Braves going in the same year. Maddux will get the Chicago vote and Glavine some New York votes. Both should make it, but it’s a shame you have to wait and see about 300 game winners.

And my worry is with all the others on the expansion era ballot, Bobby might not get 75% of the vote. But several have been on the ballot before and not been votes in. When Joe Morgan is on the selection committee, anything can happen. December 9 isn’t too far away, nor January 8. When Will and I left Cooperstown we stopped for gas in Albany. We had to go that way due to the flooding.

Since every player deserves a bobblehead, I figured you were talking about the skinny outfielder Mike Kelly from the mid-90’s. Made me think of other obscure Braves outfielders, so as I was typing the Harper comment I originally thought about him falling over the fence…then realized a funnier bobblehead would be him windmilling his arm. Or maybe Rick Camp with a bat.

So my old Georgia Tech friend Steve Givens, who rarely comments on Facebook about anything, makes that off the wall comment about dollars per win: “$/win is a skewed stat when measuring who made the playoffs. Excel would flag as a circular reference” Huh? Am I missing something? I ranked all teams, then made observations about the playoff teams. I didn’t know how to respond to Steve.

Good New York Times article about the metro area. My dad sent me Bill Curry’s “Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle” – I have to read it by Thanksgiving. I’ve already read 3 of the 10 chapters. His high school coach at College Park, Bobby Dodd, Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Don Shula, Johnny Unitas, George Plimpton, Willie Davis, and Bubba Smith. So far very good. I’ll have to read Fall of Giants after I finish World Without End.

TV Time

Great old clip of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson when both Leno and Jaleel “Urkel” White were guests. Leno was already in line to take Johnny’s place, but after Carson had given several items to Urkel, Urkel exclaimed “This is the show of gifts!” Leno made some comment and handed Urkel something off the table, like an ashtray or something. Then Carson replied to Urkel “And when I retire, you can sit here!” Of course, the 1991 moment is now on YouTube. Clip Funny how much stuff you can find on YouTube.

A year or so ago Jaleel White guest-starred on Psych…my 15 year old’s favorite show. They get a lot of great old stars on that show: Shatner, Molly Ringwald. I had to show Matthew the Seinfeld where George talks to Corbin Bernsten and George Wendt. Like reruns of MASH, I now watch some Seinfeld reruns and not remember seeing them back in the day.

Anna got braces, so she was cutting up her energy bar to eat it. Had to show her the Seinfeld clip where everyone was eating Snickers with a knife and fork. George: “How do you eat it, with your HANDS?” Jerry: “I passed a homeless guy on the street eating M&M’s with a spoon.”  She wasn’t impressed.

The old Sting joke made my day. I finally stopped telling it every time Sting’s name came up – after all four family members threatened to revolt. Glad I’m not the only one who remembered it. Click here.

I always remember one story Leno told where he brought his parents with him to NBC in NYC and they got in the elevator and Sting stepped on with them. And Leno said, "Mom, Dad, let me introduce you to, uh, Sting." And his dad said, "WHAT? WHAT THE HELL'S HIS NAME? STINGMAN? WHAT KIND OF NAME IS STINGMAN?"

I like how Chris Elliot is now showing up playing characters on shows like How I Met Your Mother. The younger generation has no idea about how he started out on Letterman. He is this generation’s Martin Mull. Hard to believe he is a year younger than me.

I am Right. You are an Idiot

The debate over the Braves new stadium is similar to the debate over Obamacare, Gay Marriage, Global Warming, Chick-fil-a, or Creation vs. Evolution. If you are not on my side, then you are wrong and I hate you. I will attack you not with facts and a logical debate, but with insults, twisting the truth, and lies. One “satirical” blog post called surbanites “lifeless zombies.” It’s what this country and the world around us has become. So sad.

Sadder even than all the back room big money political deals that happen too often: not just the Braves and Falcons and other sports teams, but the kind that go on with increasing frequency all across the country. Cobb County teachers are laid off or forced to take unpaid furlough days due to the shortfall of funds. Bridges and roads and sewers are collapsing and crumbling and collapsing around us. SPLOST monies are used on the pet projects of county commissioners. I’m reading a book about Wall Street ignorantly getting itself into the high-risk mortgage industry, which eventually collapsed – taking several large brokerage houses with it.

Went back to that Mayor of Ponce blog post – I had seen a link and thought it might be a new post, but it was only the original zombie post. Several commenters had taken the mayor to task – jumped all over him, actually. To the mayor’s credit he did not respond with more venom.

Florida State has an undefeated season, and their quarterback’s supposedly sealed criminal case gets leaked to the press. Athletes are more concerned about making the great play than following basic fundamentals. The SportsCenter highlight is more important than winning the game. Players celebrate making routine plays, then stand by helplessly when they make a bad play, looking foolish. Millions are spent on outlandish “look at me” uniforms – that are only worn one time. “But they’re auctioned off for charity” claims fail to mention that only a small portion of the proceeds actually make their way to the charity. All this causes me to lose interest in sports.

It’s all about belittling and crushing the opposition and making your own side look good. I know people like this. It is not very appealing. I am often tempted to respond in kind.

All this reminds me to be in the world, but not of it. No use arguing with fools whose minds are made up. Let God love others though me. It’s hard.

Eight Days the Week

A popular post due to the title. Welcome to my blog. Poke around and leave a comment or two. Thanks for reading. Not all posts are as mundane as this one.

Earlier in the month Will and Ceil check out the pepper patch in the UGArden, just outside Athens. yes, that's Will's ponytail.

FRIDAY (Nov 15): My weekend was similar to my past weekends. Watched the movie Moneyball, just like I had a Friday or two ago. I think Ceil took Anna shopping.

SATURDAY: Cleaned upstairs and watched College GameDay. Watched some of Ohio State/Illinois before the Georgia/Auburn game. Did some laundry and watched SC/FL and AL/Miss State.

SUNDAY: Got a good chunk of the upstairs cleaned. Put up the clothes containers and leaned out some of the corners of our bedroom. Cleaned up some of Anna’s room and did more laundry. Took M down to PCC and picked up Ceil. Didn’t watch much football, but caught most of the highlights. After a supper of eggs, toast, bacon, and grits I went upstairs and read.

MONDAY: Anna showed up for her focus group, but she wasn’t needed. She got paid the $85.00 anyway. She was happy.

Left work at 4:45 and used my coupon for BOGO Wendy’s chicken sandwiches. Tasted ok: better than McDonalds but nothing like Chickfila. Drove to the Perimeter Mall area for my focus group. Fifteen minutes for $25.00. I was worried about traffic going home, but it wasn’t too bad. Ceil went the wrong way, so it took her much longer. Changed clothes and headed out to meet with four other guys from our long time small group. Got home around 10:30.

TUESDAY: There are three Kroger’s on my way how from work. I usually wait until the last Kroger if I need to stop – the “stinky” Kroger that Claire used to shop at. Yesterday on the way home from work I was just starving, o I stopped at the first Kroger instead of a fast food place. Vince Dooley was in there autographing a book. No signs or advertisements, just Vince.

Ceil cooked fajitas for supper. Watched “Jordan Rides the Bus.” Realized I had seen it when it first came out, but watched the whole thing again. I want to watch the ESPN 30 for 30 – The Book of Manning. Saw the last five minutes of it.

WEDNESDAY: Had a great time at the Tech game, even though Tech Lost. Seemed like they didn’t play that bad, except for all the turnovers. Didn’t seem as discouraging as past years. Still, Dayton was able to drive into the lane AND shoot from the outside better than Tech.

Left Buckhead after the game and drove home. From the Lindbergh area it’s easy to go up 85, 75, or 400 – to anywhere north or south. Only when I drove into my driveway did Anna text, needing to be picked up. Had I known she was out I could’ve easily picked her up in Peachtree Corners. By the time I got back from my trip to east Roswell I was worn out. As I surmised, Ceil and Matthew ate at Willys.

THURSDAY: At lunch I rode with co-worker Darryl to visit a nearby fabricator. While we were out Will called. He had spotted some elephant ear bulbs free on Craig’s List, near my office. Darryl said he’s take some, so we rode over to Peachtree Corners to pick them up.

C and M saw the new Hunger Games movie Thursday night. A went to the Hillsong United concert at the Gwinnett Arena. Saturday C and A are going to Athens. We’ll see if they stick around for the game.

SPdL Update

Went to the Wednesday night Tech/Dayton game with Reid. Met at the SPdL Wednesday night dinner. Walked in with Sarah Reed – Bill drives the exact same Honda CRV that Ceil just got. Ate with Reid and some choir members. Saw Edie, but she was going somewhere.

Bill Dukes came and ate with us. As usual, he told the 1980 Mighty Mite story of when I arrived for the 8 am game dressed in a bathrobe. He added parts that I had forgotten about.

Dock Hollingsworth pulled up a chair just to talk to me, which was extremely nice. He asked about some of his father’s friends at work, so I filled him in as best I could.

I said hello to Jerry Head, and Marcine came up to give me a hug. Reid seemed to be in a hurry to leave, so I wasn’t able to make the rounds like I had wanted. I missed saying hello to the Cheathams, Taylors, Mr. Neal, and Denton Harris. Was able to say hello to Sharon Lim, Scott Roma, and Dan Barker.

Reid introduced me to Tech BSU legend Jim Haskell, who graduated in 1975 and knew Fred O, Wayne Price, John Rose, Steve Norman, Mary Deaton, and probably young Don Head. Jim has returned to SPdL and is teaching Sunday School. He took the time to ask about me, and where we went to church. Both he and Dock made it clear they’d like the Murphys to come back, which I greatly appreciate and don’t take lightly. It is great that Dock is turning things around in a way to become a more open and inviting church. It’s been a long time since SPdL (and many churches) were that kind of place.

Church membership is a topic I often think about. As Ceil and I age it would be good to be in a place not only to be ministered to by many other friends, but also have the opportunity to minister to friends and people around us. Like North Point, Passion City Church is a great place to worship and plug into – working with children, directing traffic, etc. They are much harder places to get to know and hang out with people in the same stage of life as us – especially for people like Ceil and me. We’re not the most outgoing people in a crowd – followers as opposed to leaders. Our group of good friends is very small.

In less than five years we could be empty-nesters. Passion is a great place for Ceil and the kids. She hopes to help out at the Passion Conference in January. At some point we need to look at the long term. While SPdL feels like home, how long would it be that way? Most of our friends are older, in their late-70’s and early 80’s. There are few remaining our age: Drew and Nancy, Bob and Patti Lamb, Jeff Bunch, Nancy Harris, David Hall.

Sometimes I cringe at what goes on at Johnson Ferry. People there seem to live their entire life there, making little contact with anyone outside their walls. Some people send their kids to school there, play sports there, and worship there. Johnson Ferry meets many needs and does minister to the community. As a visitor who doesn’t look and dress and drive the right car and talk like a typical Johnson Ferry person, I feel like an outsider whenever I am there. Does some of the fault lie with me? Everyone is not an outgoing, leader type person. Some churches like Johnson Ferry seem to only attract leader types, or I’m not meeting many of the non-outgoing followers. Makes sense. While at Johnson Ferry I feel like I have to put on an act and not be myself. I would imagine many others feel the same way.

TWO UPDATES: Margaret Hurt signed to be a part of the Auburn equestrian team. Young David Norman got engaged. He graduated from Kennesaw State.  

Nov 16 College Football Roundup

By the end of the day Saturday I'd had enough football for a while. Auburn striking gold on that lucky play because of poor fundamentals on the Georgia players fault, had me deflated. Earlier in the game a different UGA DB recovered a fumble in the end zone and ran it out – more bad fundamentals. Instead of a touchback, he risked fumbling the ball and was tackled on the ten yard line. I had all but given up hope that Georgia would come back. Mary Hurt and Leah Stephens went to the game – not sure about David and Mark.

All the calls were going Auburn's way. Richt finally got fed up and argued with the refs. I'm sure he had a great view of the fumble in front of the UGA bench. I never understand how one player can recover a fumble on the ground and then the play not be whistled over as soon as an opposing player touches him – or an unnecessary roughness penalty be called for a player diving into an opponent lying on the ground with the ball. Instead the refs let player after player jump on top of the pile, as the players wrestle on the bottom over the ball. If the NCAA was concerned about injuries, it seems like they would do something about pileups on fumble recoveries. People say "he didn't have control of the ball" – but that's rarely the case. Same thing happened to UCF, causing them to lose to South Carolina.

No one mentioned the possible targeting hit by the Auburn player on the last play of the game. The defender left his feet and led with his head, hitting the defenseless Murray on the shoulders and head.

And all the Auburn fans were saying the officials gave that last touchdown to Georgia. Vern and Gary framed the scene well, noting the replay call would have implications not only on the game but on the entire national championship picture. So often announcers think a replay call is obvious, only to see the replay official make the opposite call. Fair-weathered fans who don't watch much football wouldn't know what I'm talking about. In this case the field official called it a touchdown, and there was no concrete replay evidence to overturn to call on the field – unless you are an Auburn fan

Reid's Loved/Hated from the weekend:

Hated Clemson over Ga Tech. Agree. At least it was semi-respectable.

Loved Duke over Miami. Didn't care. Can't believe how Miami has fallen so flat. Duke looked terrible in black jerseys and blue pants.

Hated FSU over Syracuse. Disagree. Someone stooped low to reveal quarterback Jameis Winston's legal issues.

Loved South Car over Florida. This is the game I watched. Bad call by Florida to go for it on fourth down, but I guess it was late.

Hated Auburn over Georgia. Agree. Auburn got lucky.

Loved Ala over Miss St. Agree. I figured Bama wouldn't blow them out in Starkville. After all the big games Bama has had, there's no way they can get up for every game. Now the Auburn/Alabama game is a must-see, much more than UGA/GT or SC/Clemson.

Hated Tampa Bay over Atlanta. Agree. Any high draft pick for the Falcons needs to be parlayed into at least two good players – both offensive linemen. Looks like the defense could use some help as well.

Loved Central Florida over Temple. Like Bama, UCF has had too many previous big games to get up for lowly Temple on the road. UCF did good just to win. Great clutch catch by the UCF tight end was the play of the day - until Auburn hit the jackpot.

Loved Tech over Georgia (basketball) – in Stegeman.

Loved Maryland over Virginia Tech. I like Frank Beamer, but his great-athlete Logan Thomas is not a winning quarterback.

Updated Total QB Ratings

ESPN’s Total QB Rating – includes all November 16th games. These ratings factor in strength of schedule.   

I get tired of tuning into a football game and have the talking head ex-jock announcer guy tell me what a great player that team’s quarterback is. When you look at his team’s won-loss record and the quarterback’s statistics, the “great player” is among the worst in the country. When will an announcer tell it like it is? I was never a Howard Cosell fan, but maybe I would be now.  

1. 93.0 Marcus Mariota, Oregon

2. 92.9 Jameis Winston, FSU

3. 91.8 Bryce Petty, Baylor

4. 89.6 Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

5. 88.2 Zack Mettenberger, LSU

6. 86.7 Aaron Murray, Georgia

7. 86.6 Daniel Sams, Kansas State

8. 81.1 AJ McCarron, Alabama

9. 80.8 Braxton Miller, Ohio State

10. 80.6 Joe Southwick, Boise State

11. 80.4 Clint Chief, Oklahoma State

12. 80.2 Tajh Boyd, Clemson

13. 80.1 Brett Huntley, UCLA

14. 79.9 James Franklin, Mizzou

15. 78.3 Stephen Morris, Miami

18. 78.2 Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville

21. 77.5 Nick Marshall, Auburn

22. 77.1 Blake Bortles, Central Florida

24. 76.6 Marquise Williams, North Carolina

30. 74.4 Bo Wallace, Ole Miss

33. 73.0 Connor Shaw, South Carolina

37. 72.1 Case McCoy, Texas

43. 67.4 Bryn Renner, North Carolina

47. 65.9 Brandon Connette, Duke

51. 64.9 Jalen Whitlow, Kentucky

53. 64.5 Justin Worley, Tennessee

54. 64.4 Terrel Hunt, Syracuse

55. 64.4 Blake Bell, Oklahoma

59. 62.9 Tom Savage, Pittsburgh

61. 62.8 Devin Gardner, Michigan

71. 58.4 Anthony Boone, Duke

80. 55.5 Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech

85. 50.8 CJ Brown, Maryland

89. 49.3 Tyler Murphy, Florida

90. 48.8 Pete Thomas, NC State

95. 47.6 Vad Lee, Georgia Tech

96. 45.9 Austyn Carta-Samuels, Vanderbilt

98. 45.4 David Watford, Virginia

100. 44.3 Christian Hackenberg, Penn State

111. 38.9 Tanner Price, Wake Forest

MLB $ per Win

The Braves finished the 2013 season with the second most wins (96) in baseball. They accomplished this despite having only the 18th highest payroll in baseball. Their dollars per win rank was seventh lowest.

Of the 23 teams that spent more per win than the Braves, eighteen did not even make the playoffs. A 19th team made the wild card game, but lost.    

Of the six teams that spent the most per win, five did not make the playoffs. Of the seven teams that spent the least per win, five made the playoffs.

Five teams spent twice as much per win than the Braves did: the Phillies, Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, and White Sox.

The Red Sox won the World Series with the fourth highest payroll and the 24th lowest dollars per win. The Red Sox and Cardinals finished the season with most wins (97) – one more than the Braves.

The Astros had the lowest payroll, and the lowest number of wins…but their dollars per win average was also the lowest.

Perhaps this dollars per win number should be used for consideration for the manager of the year award. That’s what got me thinking about this whole topic.

Here’s the teams ranked by dollars per win – also listing their payroll rank, number of 2013 wins, and rank of their win total.

$/win-payroll-wins-win rank

 477030 30 51 30 Astros  

 619894 28 92 09 Rays – wild card

 639063 29 62 29 Marlins

 705208 27 94 05 Pirates – wild card

 714344 26 96 02 Athletics – won division

 896927 21 92 09 Indians – wild card

 930085 18 96 02 Braves – won division

 935950 22 86 13 Royals

 943288 25 76 19 Padres

1019582 24 74 23 Rockies

1079922 15 85 15 Orioles

1113068 17 81 16 Diamondbacks

1144886 23 66 27 Twins

1201041 19 74 23 Mets

1203114 11 97 01 Cardinals – lost World Series

1228508 13 90 11 Reds – wild card

1229775 16 74 23 Brewers

1307346 12 86 13 Nationals

1328112 20 71 25 Mariners

1397776 08 91 10 Rangers

1578041 14 66 27 Cubs

1597892 10 74 23 Blue Jays

1602654 05 93 06 Tigers – lost ALCS

1638838 04 97 01 Red Sox – won World Series

1822631 07 78 17 Angels

1870794 06 76 19 Giants

1969290 09 63 28 White Sox

2186003 03 73 24 Phillies

2351119 02 92 09 Dodgers – lost NLCS

2694035 01 85 15 Yankees

Tech Loses to Clemson

Watched all of Tech/Clemson. While the final score was somewhat respectable, Tech once again made one mistake after another, particularly in the first quarter. Vad Lee does not look like an option quarterback. He seemed to make up his mind before the snap whether to pitch or keep. Once the Clemson defender almost intercepted his pitch. For someone with his athletic ability his footwork is slow. He has a decent arm, but throws off his back foot too much. I now understand why he was redshirted and played so little last year. The Clemson defense had Vad completely befuddled. He missed wide open receivers and demonstrated little ability to avoid pass rushers or throw while under duress. Backup QB Thomas is quick, but has a much weaker arm.

Tech fielded a revolving door of kickoff returners. The announcer was right: Tech should've taken touchbacks whenever possible. The key to returning a kickoff is fearlessness. A returner most field the kick and take off at full speed. Cuts should be sharp and taken at full speed. Whenever a returner stops to reverse field or head east and west, almost always the defenders tackle the returner before the 20 yard line. Only the last returner got it right, and he almost broke away for a touchdown. Smeltzer appeared overwhelmed by the large, loud Clemson crowd.

Robbie Godhigh had a career night. I've been saying for two years that he's Tech's best back. He gets fewer touches than Sims and Days – who are big and fast but rarely produce. Last night Zack Laskey hardly got any touches either, though he did make one good play. Again, the ESPN announcers were quick to recognize that Godhigh was Tech's best player. I thought the announcers did a good job: fair, incisive, entertaining. They admitted that Watkins pushed off a little on his touchdown catch. Not a big Jessie Palmer fan, though I loved his line: "I'm a quarterback and didn't think that was interference."

For a second I thought Dabo was going to put a banged up Tajh Boyd back into the game, with Clemson leading by 24 in the fourth quarter. His backups need the work, and Boyd will be desperately needed against rival South Carolina. Boyd passed 1000 yards in career rushing. Everyone says he is a running threat, but 1002 yards over 44 games is less than 23 yards per game. That's a couple of 3 yard runs per quarter. Maybe his sacks are subtracted from the total.

The different between Clemson's overall talent compared to Tech's is laughable. Very few of Tech's players could play for Clemson. Yet going into last night's game Tech had won four of the past six. What does that say?