Friday, August 15, 2008

Mayer

Mayer: Injuries concern for QBs

By Bill Mayer

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All the football teams in the Big 12 Conference are one ligament or torn cartilage away from being transformed from contenders to also-rans. The league never has had such a wealth of vital triggermen. Kept healthy they will give us a sterling season.

Yet take away, for even a game or two, a Todd Reesing of Kansas, a Chase Daniel of Missouri, a Josh Freeman of Kansas State, a Joe Ganz of Nebraska or a Cody Hawkins of Colorado, and a genuine wannabe can in an instant become an almost-but-not quite.

The Big 12 North is entering the most competitive campaign ever, if key quarterbacks show up every week. Iowa State isn't sure who its man will be. Whoever it is needs experience and consistency to get the Cyclones even near the levels of its North foes. He can't get hurt, either.

To the South, Oklahoma and Texas with Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy are the favorites, but Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State also have game-winners taking snaps. Even Baylor, like Iowa State the whipping boy of its division, has a legitimate threat in Blake Szymanski.

Injuries already are creating worries in 2008 planning. The broken finger of Missouri tight end Chase Coffman is reason for concern. But as long as Daniel is in charge, the ship will stay on course.

You watch KU pepperpot Sparky Reesing wheel and deal with utter abandon and you tend to think he's a kid who doesn't get hurt, or won't admit it if he is. But that ailing ankle, despite denials, was a hindrance against Missouri last season, and Kansas, like all the other teams in the league, needs its top guys at the throttle.

Kansas, however, could be better off than the others if Reesing is lamed. It has the versatile Kerry Meier with combat savvy in a lot of categories. Not sure any of the other 11 clubs are favored with such a "backup."

But just imagine what a treat we'll get if all the Big 12 quarterbacks avoid crippling wounds and can go the route at their best. Unlikely, sure, but delightful to think about.

¢ Sure, the Kansas basketball team will have seven promising 2008-09 prospects if all seven of the touted newcomers are academically harnessed for action. (Why it's taking all this time after five-plus years of prep time to get the Morris twins eligible is a massive mystery to me.)

But a Cole Aldrich-Sherron Collins anchor duo isn't chopped liver, and 6-foot-5 Conner Teahan, 6-3 Brady Morningstar and 6-3 Tyrel Reed, given sufficient opportunities, will add far more to the equation than a lot of people star-struck by the new guys seem to think. Even if the Morrises wind up in dry dock due to schooling woes, those other five talents are substantial.

Again, let's avoid a glut of hype for neophytes while we forget the notable holdovers.

¢ The Olympic movement has never been able to escape scandals. One of the biggest of all-time was China's feverish promises, most broken, to do many wondrous things such as treat its citizens better and clean up their Beijing joint. But among the pettiest of actions was projecting Lin Miaoke, that little pig-tailed girl in the red dress, "performing" the Chinese national anthem in the opening ceremonies. She lip-synched it while a girl who "is not pretty enough" did the vocals. Good lord!

Paging Charlie Chan and No. 1 son Key Luke to investigate that disgrace.

Comments

ttoulouse (anonymous) says...

Ok, a couple of things:
1 - I wish this would have been a more in-depth piece about backup QBs around the conference instead of a blanket warning about not getting hurt. Obviously I think we have the best backup in the B12. I would be interesting to see if any other team has the same.

2 - The reason why people are so in to the newcomers for the basketball team is because Aldrich and Collins are the ONLY ones we really saw last year. and I'm sorry but we need the Morris twins for size, depth and defense. I don't think Teahan can guard anyone in the post or get 10-15 rebounds per game. All three of the "veterans" returning showed very little on the defensive end during their limited court time.

August 15, 2008 at 6:20 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

patton6 (anonymous) says...

Is Szymanski even going to be the QB at Baylor? Or is it going to be Kirby Freeman? Whoeever it is, neither can match the pepperpot we've got.

August 15, 2008 at 8:16 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

chuckberry32 (anonymous) says...

Mayer, I hate to bash you here but this story bounces around more than an 8 year old girl on a pogo stick. Are the QB's themselves worried? Somehow I doubt it but maybe you could have asked...

Beano Cook (who I'm not too fond of) said in a podcast the other day that he believes the sharp rise in knee injuries is due to the strength training regiment put in place nowadays. I think there might be some merit to that.

August 15, 2008 at 8:34 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

chuckberry32 (anonymous) says...

BTW, "pepperpot" is not an english word according to dictionary.com. Urbandictionary.com defines it as:

The term defined by the members of Monty Python to describe the common middle-aged house-wife in London/Britain, in the late 60's/early 70's. Generally refers to the bodily shape of these women.

August 15, 2008 at 8:39 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

From what I have seen, Tyrel Reed can play.

Teahan and Morningstar? Spot-up shooters, period. You've gotta have more game than that to play at the elite level. Now....they ARE excellent kids to have in your program for chemistry and practice reasons. Plus they will boost the academic numbers.

August 15, 2008 at 9:17 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

HawkDigestCom (anonymous) says...

Tarnation, maybe you internet contraption swashbucklers need a refresher course. It's as plain as a wart on a frog's belly. He's just prostagating that if our number one pigskin whipper gets hurt, we'll still be as happy as housewives at Macy's because we've got Kerry Meier ready to lace up his spikes for the gridiron. The other teams will be driving a Studebaker into the Missouri river if they suffer the same.

Maybe that was wrong, but I love doing old-timer talk. People have got to learn to appreciate Bill. Every thing else out there reads pretty much the same. I look forward to these posts.

August 15, 2008 at 10:14 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

d_prowess (anonymous) says...

Pepperpot... I love it!
Almost as good as one local sportscaster once commenting on really heavy rain as a "A frog drownin', gulley-washer!"

August 15, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

grantmvb (anonymous) says...

Teahan is a spot up shooter, no question. Brady Morningstar will only have success if he's able to make plays off the dribble. He can slash, but the real question is can he get by defenders and at this point no one has any clue.

August 15, 2008 at noon ( | suggest removal )

KGphoto (anonymous) says...

Don't forget Releford and Appleton. Two guards who should make an immediate difference. I think both of these guys are starting ahead of Teahan and Brady.

Plus we have Quintrell Thomas 6'8" 225. And even though we haven't seen much the last few years, Matt Kleinmann 6'10" 247 can play. He has a game more like Nick Collinson, conservative, efficient, with a nice touch around the glass. He could rack up 7-8 rebounds in 20 minutes and you would hardly notice him. Matt, Cole and Quintrell (if he puts on a couple more pounds) will give us some serious weight anchoring the paint. Two classic centers and a big forward. Something we haven't had in a long time.

August 15, 2008 at 12:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

chuckberry32 (anonymous) says...

only Mayer could turn a football article into a basketball one!

August 15, 2008 at 1:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

HawkDigestCom - LOL!!

August 15, 2008 at 3:41 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

troutsee (anonymous) says...

ITS FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

August 15, 2008 at 4 p.m. ( | suggest removal )