Toughest Schedules of 2018

[Across The Field]

Then what the hell was your initial response about?! Lol. It literally had nothing to do with Dillon.

It was about you saying BC was a major opponent while Maryland was a detriment. I think if you put a healthy Maryland in BC's schedule, they could also win 9 games. They'd definitely lose to Clemson, likely lose to Miami and FSU, and Purdue is a toss-up.

Maryland was 4-8 last year, but 6 of those 8 losses came against teams with 10+ wins (maybe the only team who faced that many 10+ win teams last year before bowl season), a loss to 8 win michigan, and then a bad loss against Rutgers. Had they not been decimated by injuries, who knows what could've happened. My point is, I don't think healthy Maryland and healthy BC are really any different in terms of how good they actually are.

 

[ericd7633]

Yup, Zeke ran a 4.47. By what measurables is he more athletic than Zeke, as you said?

Just comparing to what Zeke did at the combine, his vertical is better than Zeke's. Zeke did the broad jump at the combine if I had to guess since his vertical is better his broad jump probably is too. Dillon was timed at 4.29 in the shuttle, Zeke didn't do that, but Barkley was timed at 4.24 at the combine. So a minimal difference there. And his strength is obviously there. Dillon is a freak athlete.

 

[ericd7633]

It was about you saying BC was a major opponent while Maryland was a detriment. I think if you put a healthy Maryland in BC's schedule, they could also win 9 games. They'd definitely lose to Clemson, likely lose to Miami and FSU, and Purdue is a toss-up.

Maryland was 4-8 last year, but 6 of those 8 losses came against teams with 10+ wins (maybe the only team who faced that many 10+ win teams last year before bowl season), a loss to 8 win michigan, and then a bad loss against Rutgers. Had they not been decimated by injuries, who knows what could've happened. My point is, I don't think healthy Maryland and healthy BC are really any different in terms of how good they actually are.

Then rank MD in your top 25. Or take BC out of your top 20 if you think they are similar.

 

[Across The Field]

Just comparing to what Zeke did at the combine, his vertical is better than Zeke's. Zeke did the broad jump at the combine if I had to guess since his vertical is better his broad jump probably is too. Dillon was timed at 4.29 in the shuttle, Zeke didn't do that, but Barkley was timed at 4.24 at the combine. So a minimal difference there. And his strength is obviously there. Dillon is a freak athlete.

So you're using high school numbers for AJ Dillon compared to combine numbers for Zeke. Come on, you know better than that. Coming out of high school, Zeke had a better 40-time and better 20-yard shuttle. AJ had the better vertical.

Let me know when Dillon does anything remotely close to what Zeke did in the CFP in 14-15. Let me know when Dillon breaks off an 85 yard run against elite Alabama DBs and leaves them in the dust. Then we can talk about actual athleticism.

 

[Across The Field]

Then rank MD in your top 25. Or take BC out of your top 20 if you think they are similar.

No. I don't think Maryland will have as many wins as BC this year, because their schedule is tougher.

 

[huskers1217]

I'm sure I'll miss someone, but here is what I think are the toughest schedules for teams that appear in the top 25 coaches poll.

1) Michigan: @ND, Wisconsin, @MSU, Penn St, @OSU (All top 12 teams in the coaches preseason poll)



Who needs to be added to this list?

so @michigan, @wisky, @OSU, Mich St, @Iowa isn't more difficullt

 

[ericd7633]

So you're using high school numbers for AJ Dillon compared to combine numbers for Zeke. Come on, you know better than that. Coming out of high school, Zeke had a better 40-time and better 20-yard shuttle. AJ had the better vertical.

Let me know when Dillon does anything remotely close to what Zeke did in the CFP in 14-15. Let me know when Dillon breaks off an 85 yard run against elite Alabama DBs and leaves them in the dust. Then we can talk about actual athleticism.

I didn't find his high school numbers til right now.

Dillon also had a better SPARQ rating.

Football Recruiting - A.J. Dillon - Player Profiles - ESPN

Football Recruiting - Ezekiel Elliott - Player Profiles - ESPN

But keep downplaying his athleticism.

And now you're comparing them as a player since I proved Dillon is a better athlete.

 

[Across The Field]

I didn't find his high school numbers til right now.

Dillon also had a better SPARQ rating.

Football Recruiting - A.J. Dillon - Player Profiles - ESPN

Football Recruiting - Ezekiel Elliott - Player Profiles - ESPN

But keep downplaying his athleticism.

And now you're comparing them as a player since I proved Dillon is a better athlete.

I've never downplayed his athleticism. He's a jumbo back and he's a hell of an athlete off the field. On it, he was pretty good but not elite. Elite backs are ones like Elliott who put up elite numbers no matter who the opponent is. Again, real athleticism is what he was doing against elite players on the field on defenses like Alabama. Dillon has yet to even come close to that.

At any rate, he's obviously not as good as Zeke. He likely never will be. As of right now, I'd have him right around the 20th best back in the nation, but he'll definitely put up top 10 stats.

 

[ericd7633]

I've never downplayed his athleticism. He's a jumbo back and he's a hell of an athlete off the field. On it, he was pretty good but not elite. Elite backs are ones like Elliott who put up elite numbers no matter who the opponent is. Again, real athleticism is what he was doing against elite players on the field on defenses like Alabama. Dillon has yet to even come close to that.

At any rate, he's obviously not as good as Zeke. He likely never will be. As of right now, I'd have him right around the 20th best back in the nation, but he'll definitely put up top 10 stats.

Lmao. I never compared him to Zeke, I brought him up because he's simply a better athlete, at least when comparing the two coming out of high school.

And as I've been saying, you're in the minority on this, which is fine.

 

[Across The Field]

Lmao. I never compared him to Zeke, I brought him up because he's simply a better athlete, at least when comparing the two coming out of high school.

And as I've been saying, you're in the minority on this, which is fine.

In a couple of metrics he was, in others he wasn't. Of course you naturally anoint him a better athlete overall.

5.2 ypc isn't elite. Let me know when he approaches 6.

 

[ericd7633]

In a couple of metrics he was, in others he wasn't. Of course you naturally anoint him a better athlete overall.

5.2 ypc isn't elite. Let me know when he approaches 6.

The SPARQ rating was significantly higher for Dillon. That measures speed, power, agility, reaction and quickness. Those are all attributes of athleticism.

And it's fine if you want to be in the minority with your opinion. Literally nobody would agree with you that's he's the 20th best RB.

 

[Across The Field]

The SPARQ rating was significantly higher for Dillon. That measures speed, power, agility, reaction and quickness. Those are all attributes of athleticism.

And it's fine if you want to be in the minority with your opinion. Literally nobody would agree with you that's he's the 20th best RB.

Cool. Lot of dudes have had high SPARQ scores that haven't amounted to much, but alright.

Congrats on being a parrot while offering no objective analysis of your own. Never in my life have I seen an elite RB that shrinks up against top competition, but if that's your idea of elite, it explains why you're still a ND fan I guess.

 

[7Samurai13]

Cool. Lot of dudes have had high SPARQ scores that haven't amounted to much, but alright.

Congrats on being a parrot while offering no objective analysis of your own. Never in my life have I seen an elite RB that shrinks up against top competition, but if that's your idea of elite, it explains why you're still a ND fan I guess.

Would you say he shrinks up like Ezekiel Elliott did against Michigan State in 2015?

 

[Across The Field]

Would you say he shrinks up like Ezekiel Elliott did against Michigan State in 2015?

You mean in that one bad game Zeke had against top level competition? Yes, but that was every game for him against top level competition.

 

[ericd7633]

Cool. Lot of dudes have had high SPARQ scores that haven't amounted to much, but alright.

Congrats on being a parrot while offering no objective analysis of your own. Never in my life have I seen an elite RB that shrinks up against top competition, but if that's your idea of elite, it explains why you're still a ND fan I guess.

Holy shit you're acting dumber than usual. But at least you came around on him being a better athlete.

And I did, and you dismissed it, as I said you would. Also keep in mind he did this as a freshman. And he performed fine against FSU and Iowa down the stretch, who were both top 25 defenses.

But continue to be in the minority and act like I'm the idiot...lmao

 

[Across The Field]

Holy shit you're acting dumber than usual. But at least you came around on him being a better athlete.

And I did, and you dismissed it, as I said you would. Also keep in mind he did this as a freshman. And he performed fine against FSU and Iowa down the stretch, who were both top 25 defenses.

But continue to be in the minority and act like I'm the idiot...lmao

"He's a pretty freakish athlete, he's extremely hard to bring down on first contact, and he's an absolute workhorse."

That was the extent of your analysis. Those are vague descriptors that are by no means things that set him apart.

However, what sets him behind are simple statistics:

5.3 YPC overall, good for 101st best in the nation
4.1 YPC against top 25 defenses
3 games with multiple TDs, all against bottom-half defenses in the FBS
0 catches - I repeat - ZERO catches

These are the markings of an elite RB to you? He's a volume back, plain and simple. You've already said you expect 3/5 of his OL to get drafted, so he's got a pretty damn good OL to run behind. Why is he so remarkably inefficient if he's elite?

 

[ericd7633]

"He's a pretty freakish athlete, he's extremely hard to bring down on first contact, and he's an absolute workhorse."

That was the extent of your analysis. Those are vague descriptors that are by no means things that set him apart.

However, what sets him behind are simple statistics:

5.3 YPC overall, good for 101st best in the nation
4.1 YPC against top 25 defenses
3 games with multiple TDs, all against bottom-half defenses in the FBS
0 catches - I repeat - ZERO catches

These are the markings of an elite RB to you? He's a volume back, plain and simple. You've already said you expect 3/5 of his OL to get drafted, so he's got a pretty damn good OL to run behind. Why is he so remarkably inefficient if he's elite?

Yeah he had a slow start to the season. Once they made him the focal point he took off. My guess is he'll average around 6.0 per carry this season. He does have a good O-line, one that didn't play well at the beginning of last year, as they worked in a true FR center.

 

[Across The Field]

Yeah he had a slow start to the season. Once they made him the focal point he took off. My guess is he'll average around 6.0 per carry this season. He does have a good O-line, one that didn't play well at the beginning of last year, as they worked in a true FR center.

And he had two monster games against two horrible teams in Syracuse and UConn that dramatically boosted his numbers. He was still inconsistent. He was a non-factor against UVA, and while his numbers against Iowa and FSU look good at first, you realize he had 65 carries and barely topped 300 combined yards.

Maybe he will boost his numbers this year, maybe he won't. All I know is there are at least 15-20 guys in college football that could run behind that line, average a little over 5 YPC, and not catch a single pass. That is not outstanding work. Again, he's a volume back at this point.

Would you say JT Barrett is an elite QB?

 

[ericd7633]

And he had two monster games against two horrible teams in Syracuse and UConn that dramatically boosted his numbers. He was still inconsistent. He was a non-factor against UVA, and while his numbers against Iowa and FSU look good at first, you realize he had 65 carries and barely topped 300 combined yards.

Maybe he will boost his numbers this year, maybe he won't. All I know is there are at least 15-20 guys in college football that could run behind that line, average a little over 5 YPC, and not catch a single pass. That is not outstanding work. Again, he's a volume back at this point.

Would you say JT Barrett is an elite QB?

He does need to work on his catching ability to take it even another level. Remember I said he's a top RB. I consider that elite looking at the landscape of college football, if you disagree, that's fine.

JT Barrett is an elite dual threat QB. But I don't think he's an elite thrower which is why he won't make it in the NFL.

 

[ericd7633]

^top 10 RB. Couldn't edit in time.