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Adam Rittenberg is the licensed jackoff who ESPN empowered to "cover" the Big Ten. The only one of the appointed BCS bloggers on ESPN.com that is worth a **** is Heather Dinich, and that's only b/c I'm sexually attracted to her because she covers Georgia Tech and Maryland. Heather Dinich is a 7.8 on a hottness scale and a 6.4 on a writing scale. Adam Rittenberg is a 5.3. On both.

This week, it only took him ONE SENTENCE to piss me off.




Spotlight on Big Ten quarterbacks this spring

March 2, 2009 11:41 AM

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

It's no secret that quite possibly the biggest step to fix the Big Ten calls for teams to upgrade their quarterback play.
(Alright, genius, where do you want me to start? The Big Ten does not need "fixed". There is nothing wrong with any offense that is run in the Big Ten. The Big Ten needs a horsepower boost, not a new transmission. Good lord. Not all football needs to be played the same way. And they need QB upgrades? Troy Smith won the Heisman a few years ago. Chad Henne and Drew Stanton are 1 play away from being starters in the NFL. ESPN had just as much to do with Pryor's hype as being All Universe as everyone else did. Curtis Painter graduated, so did that kid from Wisconsin. So did Hoyer. Everybody wanted to point out how good Northwestern was playing at the end of the season, but now we throw Kafka under the bus.)

College football is a quarterback's game now more than ever. The last three Heisman Trophy winners have been quarterbacks, (See, here he uses the Heisman as evidence to support his claim, but Smith's Heisman victory is not noted nor does it support a case that the Big Ten quartbacking might be legit) and barring a surprise, a signal caller will take home the hardware once again this winter. (What a prediction.) Although the Big Ten boasted by far the best crop of running backs in the nation last year, the league lagged far behind its BCS counterparts at quarterback. (Not sure I agree with that last part, with the exception of the Big XII)

Not to belabor the point too much, but the Big Ten had no players ranked among the top-20 nationally in passer rating (Hey, genius... you just got done telling us how good the RBs were. Did it ever occur to you that maybe they ran the ball a little more than other conferences, per capita?) and only one quarterback, Illinois' Juice Williams, among the top 30 in total offense. The Big 12 had nine players among the total offense top 30. (Congratulations, those lofty numbers got your conference champion a 2nd place finish.)

While the Big Ten loses five of its top six rushers from 2008, the good news is the league brings back seven of its top 10 passers. But only a handful of teams are set under center for 2009, and spring practice will be critical for the development of quarterbacks around the league. (I really hope that by league he means NCAA as a whole, because there's not much coming back in ANY of the conferences under center. Name me a starting QB in the Pac-10. Who is worth a "crap" in the SEC other than Tebow and maybe that kid at LSU? Mallett, maybe?)

Here's a snapshot of the quarterback situation entering spring ball:

Illinois -- Juice Williams is entrenched as the starter but will be working with a new offensive coordinator in Mike Schultz. Williams could have a huge senior season but needs to get more consistent after struggling down the stretch last fall.

Indiana -- The Hoosiers will continue to try Kellen Lewis at several positions, but they need more clarity at quarterback. Will Lewis and Ben Chappell continue to platoon? Can Lewis regain his All-Big Ten form of 2007?

Iowa -- Starter Ricky Stanzi returns, but he needs to cut down on interceptions and boost his completion percentage. He'll have an improved receiving corps this fall, but the security blanket of Shonn Greene is gone.

Michigan -- You can't downplay how important spring ball will be for freshman Tate Forcier. The Wolverines might not be fully settled at quarterback until the summer, but they'll feel a lot better about things if Forcier has a strong spring. Nick Sheridan also remains in the mix. (No, he isn't in the mix. And Little Man Tate is just that: He's listed at 6'0" but that kid is more like 5'10")

Michigan State -- The competition between Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol begins as Michigan State searches for Brian Hoyer's successor. Will the Spartans go with Cousins, who performed well last year as Hoyer's backup, or the more versatile Nichol, the Oklahoma transfer who some compare to Drew Stanton?

Minnesota -- Starter Adam Weber will be held out of contact drills this spring, allowing the coaches to take a long look at freshman MarQueis Gray. If Gray performs as expected in spring ball, he should find his way on the field at times this fall. (Expect to see the Minnesota team I told you about a year and a half ago. Gray is the QB that can run Brewster's offense)

Northwestern -- Senior Mike Kafka is the clear favorite to win the starting job, but he must improve as a passer. Kafka's running ability makes him a perfect candidate to run Northwestern's spread system, but he needs to show he can make short to moderate throws on a consistent basis. (There's no competition for this job)

Ohio State -- Terrelle Pryor's running skills make him one of the Big Ten's most dangerous weapons, but his blemishes as a passer are obvious. If he improves his touch on midrange throws and jells with a new-look receiving corps that includes several of his peers, Pryor will have a huge spring. (Maybe we should stop expecting national titles from freshmen)

Penn State -- Daryll Clark is the league's top quarterback entering 2009, but he'll need to find a rhythm with new receivers this spring. The more pressing issue for Penn State will be the spring development of freshman Kevin Newsome, a dual-threat quarterback who will back up Clark this fall.

Purdue -- Joey Elliott has been here before, but never as the frontrunner. The senior should be close to 100 percent following a shoulder separation and will be pushed by multitalented sophomore Justin Siller. Elliott and Siller will be working with a new offensive coordinator in Gary Nord. (I actually forgot Purdue even existed. Who the hell are Justin Siller and Joey Elliot?)

Wisconsin -- The Badgers' inability to identify a clear starter last spring might have haunted them when the season rolled around. Whether Dustin Sherer re-earns the starting job or a younger player like Curt Phillips steps up, Wisconsin needs more clarity under center after spring practice concludes. (No, the kid to watch is true frosh Jon Budmayr. That kid is gonna be real dang good)

(Its not about "fixing" something. The Big Ten isn't broken. It just needs some additives to the gas tank to improve the car's performance. There is only ONE team who should be the hands-down favorite to win the whole thing in 2009 and that's Florida. Every other conference is open. So does the Big Ten need to improve for 2009, or does everybody?)

The title made me laugh, TAE. As far as the Big 10 is concerned, they are more of a running league than a conference like the Big 12. There's nothing wrong with that. The Big 10 was very weak last year and that was evident in the Bowl games, but every conference is going to have a season like that. I would say the Big East needs more of a fixing than the Big 10. Who was the last Big East team to win a National Championship? I do believe it was Miami and they aren't even in the conference anymore. That's a conference that needs fixed.

See... here's the thing. The Big Ten has always been a power conference. Barry Alvarez said one time that the reason why the Big Ten plays the way they do is because of the weather. Its harder to throw the ball in the rain and snow, and he's definitely right about that. But I dont think the elements should an excuse, either. The Big Ten groans when they are faced with impending change, and there's little doubt that they need to focus more offseason time on their speed drills if they want to compete with teams who run a faster-paced offense. Jim Tressel is an excellent head coach, but like Paterno, these guys are set in their ways. Joe let people make a few changes and its only helped PSU. Tressel, despite having been embarrassed by quicker teams, does not want to make the little adjustments. That's why I was so pissed off at ESPN in the 2008 preseason, because they were writing articles about kids being in trouble instead of articles on Bowden's supposed final season, or what OSU was doing in their spring and summer drills to enhance their team speed. I really want to know that stuff. The point is that there is nothing wrong with Big Ten football. I love Big Ten football. I love Penn State as a member of the Big Ten, because of the tradition and the awesome academics in that conference. But you have to make adjustments sometimes. I really think Minnesota is trying to do that, but now Brewster is on his 3rd DC in 3 seasons. That stuff takes a toll when you are trying to build something. Gray can run that offense, and I saw that kid in the 2008 Army AA game and he looked great. I'm excited about Minnesota's future. Illinois is another team who has moved to a faster pace. Michigan, obviously, is in a transition. Penn State made JUST enough of a tweak to keep Penn State as Penn State, and yet open it up a little bit. It's worked great for them. It's baby steps. You can't change overnight. The Big Ten "FIXING" is just like the ACC's growing pains. This stuff takes time, and people just need to accept the fact that 19 year old kids are NOT going to go from a power I team to a spread without getting confused.

The Big Ten was always a traditional power conference. Great linemen and good RBs. The Pac-10 was a passing conference. The Southwest Conference, which is a lot of the Big XII now, ran a lot of option. Take a look at what happened to Nebraska when they went from the Option to the West Coast. It was growing pains galore, and they are still recovering from that mess. Hopefully it won't happen to Michigan. These conferences all have a unique history. I LOVE the Mountain West and have for a long time, and I love the WAC. Now, where the Big East comes in, is that the BE has no real traditional powers, and they do not have a conference identity. That is why I do not like the Big East. It's not because I think Pit's players are terrible at football, it's because the conference is an orphanage. In time, maybe it will get better. Who knows. But I just can't watch USF and Cincinnati on Thursday night when I know Boise is playing Nevada on Fox Sports.

Was the Big Ten weak in 2008? I don't know. Comparatively speaking, versus the other BCS conferences, yeah, I suppose they probably were. Has PSU benefited from Michigan's woes? You better believe it. I'm curious to see how things pan out this year, and if PSU has the established depth they think they have. I'm curious if they can compete and win a conference when Michigan (this year or whenever) and Ohio State are both doing well. I think MSU is doing well under that coach, and I think Ferentz might be shifting Iowa back up a little bit. Brewster I already mentioned. Fitzgerald will only get better at NW. Zook can keep Illinois in the 8-4 range or better. Wisconsin I think will be making a coaching change in 1-2 years. So we'll see. I'm optimistic about it, and when I hear jackasses on TV or on the internet talking about how bad a conference is, I question whether or not they understand that things in sports have always been cyclical. For every team that goes 12-0, somebody is going 0-12. That's one of the great things too, the balance there has to be, since someone HAS to lose. For all the touting of the SEC, I really don't see much coming back other than UF and maybe LSU. Pac-10? Like I said, I can't name 1 starting QB in the whole conference. Texas should win the Big XII, and they'll probably end up winning the national title, but I don't know how you say that right now with all UF has returning. That being said, there will be a time when Texas goes 3-9, and UF goes 4-8. It'll all swing back around again, and it has to, because that's the way the world works and has always worked.

I feel bad for the coach of the Texas team that goes 3-9 because he won't survive the season. With the recruits that UT gets, they should never go less than 8-4. When they had two 3 loss seasons, Texas fans thought the world was coming to an end. I look at 10-3 as a good season. As far as next seasons National Championship goes, that's a long way away. I wouldn't pick anyone right now because a lot can happen until then. Texas should be in the running, but for them to win it, they are going to have to get their running game going.