temperature's rising
Delays, delays, delays on the blogpoll bicker...but nonetheless, in between trying to set up the magnanimous Warren St. John with my boss, here's my responses to the latest...
Which unheralded player on your team will be the hardest to replace? Which seemingly inconsequential player could make the biggest impact?
There are lots of ways to tell if your team has a ton of NFL talent; one is to check whether you had a Florida mailing address in college. Another is to see your backup TE get drafted. Such is the case with UVA last year, but one of our picks kinda fell under the radar: Chris Canty. Chris Canty was an absolute beast, wreaking far more havoc on D than the much-ballyHooed Ahmad/Falling Stock/Hammer/Dennis the Menace LB foursome. Sadly, he suffered a crippling, "holy shit, he plans on walking again?" injury in a game that was wrapped up...let's just call it a "Anthony Poindexter special." Think those guys sit in a dark room, listening to "It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career" on repeat?
After said injury, other than an occasional pan of the camera to him on the sideline, dude was a forgotten man; our once-vaunted defense lost a good deal of its bad-assness, but people mostly chalked that up to Ahmad taking plays off (also true). Since Groh recruits somewhere around 20 LB's a year, hopefully one of them can fill in the gaps, but I'm not so sure losing the veteran leadership of Canty (plus Andrew Hoffman) on the line isn't going to cripple us, especially with our questionable secondary.
The guy I (hope/pray) think will step up is Bud Davis. He reminds me a little bit of Greg Lewis on the Eagles...a kinda memorable reception in the postseason, a little under the radar. When we had that opening drive against the Raisinettes in the Texas Instruments Bowl, I thought to myself, "where the tits has that guy been at all year?" Trust me, if you can remember two significant catches made by UVA WR's last year, that's one more than I've got.
Which regular-season game that won’t feature your team would you pay the most money to see this season? Why?
Really, I'm not sure who my first dollar would go to when it comes down to alumni donations. I mean, UVA already has over $100,000 of Cohen money. Would any more make that much of a difference? Moreover, I'm not that keen on donating towards UGA because all I associate that school with is long hours in the law library and miles of beareaucratic red tape. But LSU on the other hand...they've always been there for me. And by that, I mean that in between the end of a UG(V)A game and bar-hopping, you're guaranteed to see likkered-up Cajuns cheering against whatever SEC West team got lost on their way to New Orleans. If my memory serves me correctly, LSU plays approximately 15 home games per year, all at night. And none are bigger than the LSU-UF game, which will likely be a preview of the SEC championship, just without the antiseptic confines of the Georgia Dome. I gah-rahn-tee!
If your team were a rapper, who would it be and why?
I really, REALLY wanted to go with a Clipse angle with this, but what better rap duo to liken UVA football to than the ones who authored "Drink Away The Pain" and "Shook Ones, Pt. 2"? Whether or not anyone on UVA had sickle cell is besides the point. What they did prove is that there is, in fact, such a thing as half-way crooks. But let's go ahead and pass it on to J-Ho(u)va to sum up UVA in 2004...
"Then you dropped 'Shook Ones,' switch your demeanor...well, we don't believe you."
- It's one thing when your O-line is munching on that clear-on-the-cob that apparently grows wild in Nebraska, but UVA insisted on developing a power running game that would punch teams in they face just for living...in the ACC. Which was fine against UNC, but when the Football U's came to town with their speed merchants, it was Eagles-Bucs in the 2002 NFC Championship all over again...QB draw this, screen that. None of which works, as they turned nun and got Summer Jam screened for everyone to see, never coming correct on the response...I mean, was "Crawling" the best they could come up with in response to "The Takeover"? So really, like Mobb Deep, the Hoos are a bit of a one-dimensional team that seems stiff and uncomfortable doing anything other than what they've established their rep as (see "Hey Luv"). But when they're on their West-coast passing grizzly...(see UNC, Clemson)...you get ninja'd.
"I sold what your whole album sold in my first week."
- UVA: decades in the ACC, only one league championship, shared. Virginia GHB: well, you know. That sentence alone will have me slidin' down razor blades into...pools of alcohol.
Ron New Mexico, sporting a smart turtleneck number
"Your reach ain't long enough, dunny."
- Marques Hagans, 5'9" wearing your fine-ass sister's high heels (and your sister is fine as fuck. I ain't gon' lie). When broadcasters wanted to get cute, they'd sport a camera angle that completely obscured Biscuit when he was under center.
And yet, the official Queensbridge/C-ville murderers are still the ultimate darkhorses. Unlike other teams, they've never completely cratered, but when people argue about who's the best MC/ACC power, you'll never hear them given serious consideration (Biggie, Jay-Z and Nas; The U, Virginia Teh, FSU). And their window of opportunity is about to slam shut if they can't get their shit together soon. Will they get a 50 Cent-like benefactor to raise them to new levels of mainstream glory? Or will UVA fans continue to pine for those salad days of the mid-90's...Groh, ball's in your court. Don't be a statistic.
Which unheralded player on your team will be the hardest to replace? Which seemingly inconsequential player could make the biggest impact?
There are lots of ways to tell if your team has a ton of NFL talent; one is to check whether you had a Florida mailing address in college. Another is to see your backup TE get drafted. Such is the case with UVA last year, but one of our picks kinda fell under the radar: Chris Canty. Chris Canty was an absolute beast, wreaking far more havoc on D than the much-ballyHooed Ahmad/Falling Stock/Hammer/Dennis the Menace LB foursome. Sadly, he suffered a crippling, "holy shit, he plans on walking again?" injury in a game that was wrapped up...let's just call it a "Anthony Poindexter special." Think those guys sit in a dark room, listening to "It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career" on repeat?
After said injury, other than an occasional pan of the camera to him on the sideline, dude was a forgotten man; our once-vaunted defense lost a good deal of its bad-assness, but people mostly chalked that up to Ahmad taking plays off (also true). Since Groh recruits somewhere around 20 LB's a year, hopefully one of them can fill in the gaps, but I'm not so sure losing the veteran leadership of Canty (plus Andrew Hoffman) on the line isn't going to cripple us, especially with our questionable secondary.
The guy I (hope/pray) think will step up is Bud Davis. He reminds me a little bit of Greg Lewis on the Eagles...a kinda memorable reception in the postseason, a little under the radar. When we had that opening drive against the Raisinettes in the Texas Instruments Bowl, I thought to myself, "where the tits has that guy been at all year?" Trust me, if you can remember two significant catches made by UVA WR's last year, that's one more than I've got.
Which regular-season game that won’t feature your team would you pay the most money to see this season? Why?
Really, I'm not sure who my first dollar would go to when it comes down to alumni donations. I mean, UVA already has over $100,000 of Cohen money. Would any more make that much of a difference? Moreover, I'm not that keen on donating towards UGA because all I associate that school with is long hours in the law library and miles of beareaucratic red tape. But LSU on the other hand...they've always been there for me. And by that, I mean that in between the end of a UG(V)A game and bar-hopping, you're guaranteed to see likkered-up Cajuns cheering against whatever SEC West team got lost on their way to New Orleans. If my memory serves me correctly, LSU plays approximately 15 home games per year, all at night. And none are bigger than the LSU-UF game, which will likely be a preview of the SEC championship, just without the antiseptic confines of the Georgia Dome. I gah-rahn-tee!
If your team were a rapper, who would it be and why?
I really, REALLY wanted to go with a Clipse angle with this, but what better rap duo to liken UVA football to than the ones who authored "Drink Away The Pain" and "Shook Ones, Pt. 2"? Whether or not anyone on UVA had sickle cell is besides the point. What they did prove is that there is, in fact, such a thing as half-way crooks. But let's go ahead and pass it on to J-Ho(u)va to sum up UVA in 2004...
"Then you dropped 'Shook Ones,' switch your demeanor...well, we don't believe you."
- It's one thing when your O-line is munching on that clear-on-the-cob that apparently grows wild in Nebraska, but UVA insisted on developing a power running game that would punch teams in they face just for living...in the ACC. Which was fine against UNC, but when the Football U's came to town with their speed merchants, it was Eagles-Bucs in the 2002 NFC Championship all over again...QB draw this, screen that. None of which works, as they turned nun and got Summer Jam screened for everyone to see, never coming correct on the response...I mean, was "Crawling" the best they could come up with in response to "The Takeover"? So really, like Mobb Deep, the Hoos are a bit of a one-dimensional team that seems stiff and uncomfortable doing anything other than what they've established their rep as (see "Hey Luv"). But when they're on their West-coast passing grizzly...(see UNC, Clemson)...you get ninja'd.
"I sold what your whole album sold in my first week."
- UVA: decades in the ACC, only one league championship, shared. Virginia GHB: well, you know. That sentence alone will have me slidin' down razor blades into...pools of alcohol.
Ron New Mexico, sporting a smart turtleneck number
"Your reach ain't long enough, dunny."
- Marques Hagans, 5'9" wearing your fine-ass sister's high heels (and your sister is fine as fuck. I ain't gon' lie). When broadcasters wanted to get cute, they'd sport a camera angle that completely obscured Biscuit when he was under center.
And yet, the official Queensbridge/C-ville murderers are still the ultimate darkhorses. Unlike other teams, they've never completely cratered, but when people argue about who's the best MC/ACC power, you'll never hear them given serious consideration (Biggie, Jay-Z and Nas; The U, Virginia Teh, FSU). And their window of opportunity is about to slam shut if they can't get their shit together soon. Will they get a 50 Cent-like benefactor to raise them to new levels of mainstream glory? Or will UVA fans continue to pine for those salad days of the mid-90's...Groh, ball's in your court. Don't be a statistic.
posted by Ian at 9:31 PM
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