Purdue Gets Hurricane Transfer

If you go back in my older blogs, you will see that I predicted that Robert Marve would not win the QB battle at the University of Miami. Randy Shannon has too much invested in the Miami area to let a Tampa player beat out one of his boys from close by. That would have upset too many other players that Shannon recruits from the nearby schools. Tampa has good football and good players, but doesn't put out the number of players in the proximity of the "U".
Robert Marve also was his own worst enemy, getting himself in academic and other hotwater that caused him to be suspended more than once. So Marve asked out of his scholarship and the U agreed with stipulations. Can't transfer to an in-state school or SEC or ACC schools. Wow, that puts a damper on things. After some haggling, he was allowed a little bit broader scope of schools to move to, he chose Purdue over walking on at Tennessee, one of the schools that stayed on the short list of banned prospects.
Purdue gets a very good QB. I read about him fitting the spread offense well and his running ability. Don't think Pat White or Tim Tebow with Robert Marve. Marve's best abilities lie in his arm. Not incredible arm strength, but good mechanics generally speaking and good experience throwing out of four and five wide sets in high school. If Marve buckles down mentally, he could be the next Drew Brees for the Boilermakers!

Tim Tebow getting NFL overhaul

When Scott Loeffler got the new QB coaching gig at the University of Florida, he was told not to screw up Tim Tebow. The screwing up was in reference to Tebow's screwed up passing techniques. Loeffler worked with notable quarterbacks while at the University of Michigan like Tom Brady (who I believe has the best mechanics in the league), but Brady had a private QB coach in California as well (check internet), so don't know where his "mechanics and fundamentals" credit is due.
Tim Tebow is a great college football player (probably the greatest) with his dual ability to run and throw, but his throwing motion is so far off balance that it makes some of us passing purists wince.
Now that Loeffler has gotten his feet wet in Gainseville, they are working on his techniques and even putting him under center to improve his future NFL status. Tebow says they are working on his footwork more than his motion and that is a good thing, because bad footwork causes the bad throwing motion. Improving the quickness of his release is key and getting a little bit higher release would help as well as he tends to put his right hand straight out to his intended target and extends the ball straight out behind him before making his throw. Where he needs to improve the most is in his overall balance while throwing. He completely over-rotates on most throws, where his push-off leg (left) finishes far past his lead leg and he is facing backward away from his target after throwing when his toes (of his lead leg) should end up pointed directly at the target.
What's interesting about this whole topic is that the current national champions are tweaking their offense to improve Tebow's stock at the next level. Head Coach Urban Meyer says that they will play from under center more because now they have a running back that can run from a standard set. Not buying that one.

Jeff Garcia Making Waves on West Coast

Good for the "old man". Jeff Garcia was jettisoned from Tampa Bay as the new regime cleaned house on both sides of the ball. Derrick Brooks is still looking for work. Garcia went back home to the bay area of California to most likely finish his career (who knows how many more teams he will play for before retiring) with the Oakland Raiders. It hasn't been long since he landed there that he is talking about being the starting quarterback at the beginning of the season. He made a statement about, "if the coaches make the right decision." It wasn't a flat-out claim that he was the right decision, but it will ruffle the big feathers of their huge investment QB JaMarcus Russell. The coaches will be using the non-stop work ethic of Garcia to see what kind of fight Russell wants to put up and what kind of work the ultra-talented youngster has in him.

5 Dogs, 1 Bone?

The new coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has made a very bad analogy for the "fight" to be the next starting quarterback of the team. He did it once and I let it go, but now the reference was on the NFL Network and all the announcers were playing with it. Likening the battle that will go down for the QB position this summer as, "one bone, five dogs, let's see who wants it!", is a terrible analogy seeing that former superstar QB Michael Vick has yet to be released from federal prison over dogfighting charges. Morris has already made it very public that he is looking for mean and nasty players for his team and his over-exhuberance will wear thin within a short time, but Roger Goodell may have to step in here and let him know that you can't make that reference anymore.
By the way, although I would like Luke McCown to get the nod as the starter, I think that new first round pick Josh Freeman will ultimately win the job to start the year. Raheem Morris made it perfectly clear that Freeman is his guy all the way. That makes it hard for the players and fans because everyone will be waiting for the team to struggle, so his guy can get a chance to step up and take the bone away from the older dogs. WOOF WOOF!

Favre Coming Back Again?

This may be the craziest sports story of the year and there have been plenty already. A week ago the New York Jets released Brett Favre from the reserved/retired list and the biggest post-draft story is Favre's potential return to the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. Remember the tampering questions last year when the phone records were looked at to see just how much Favre had talked with Vikings coaches? Obviously the Packers didn't want him in their division, so he made his way to the AFC for a year. As of today, Brad Childress was still in Minnesota, even though reports had him in Mississippi on Wednesday night.
Maybe this is all hooey. But with Brett Favre, it probably has legs. At first thought, I couldn't believe it at all. But then I said to myself, that with Adrian Peterson behind him, Percy Harvin on the field (who knows where he will be used), this has the makings of something pretty good.
I played against Favrey when he was still on the Atlanta Falcons and I know how long ago that was, but this guy can still get it done for one more year, if he gets some help (maybe five more years).