The Ryan Roberts Watch

Don’t ask us why, but we here at Desert Ball are rooting for Ryan Roberts. Roberts is currently the D-Backs 2B and has gotten the majority of the bats at that position since Felipe Lopez got traded. Roberts is currently hitting .286 with a .376 OBP and 5 HRs. Our secret hope is he becomes a right handed, tattooed version of Craig Counsell.

Of the week of August 9-15, Ryan Roberts stat line was:

.133 BA, .278 OBP, 2 RBI, 5 Ks and was officially replaced as the fans’ favorite underdog by Trent Oeltjen

Grade for the Week: D

Chances of Roberts being the everyday 2B in 2010: 15%

Fall of the Trojans

It ain't over till we say it is

Every year the USC Trojans are pre-season Pac-10 champions. Every year they end up being the Pac-10 champions. This makes it increasingly difficult to pick against USC. They were the media’s selection for Pac-10 champion this year. Never mind that their team is chalked full of unproven performers, they are USC. They have to be #1 in the Pac 10. I think USC got the #1 slot based on reputation alone this year. They are the best coached team in the conference (although a lot of those coaches have left to go onto head coaching jobs) and have a unlimited supply of talent. Is this the year someone else finally wins the Pac-10?

The QB Situation

Pete Carroll was pissed when Mark Sanchez left, probably because he knew he had unproven backups. The argument against this is: Matt Leinart was unproven. That’s great, let’s take a once in a generation player and make him the norm. Just because Matt Leinart came out of nowhere to become an all-time great doesn’t mean Aaron Corp is going to.

Sophomore Aaron Corp was the leader going into camp but he has suffered some injuries that have opened the door for other players on the roster. Corp is in the long line of USC prospects that were highly recruited but were overshadowed by USC’s elite recruits. With questions about his ability to start the season healthy all eyes are turning to USC’s other QBs. Mitch Mustain was one of the biggest recruits in Arkansas history but left that program because he didn’t like the Wildcat offense they ran. Mustain has an outside chance to win the job, but more realistically he will spend the rest of his college career sitting behind more talented players (the curse of signing with USC). True freshman Matt Barkley is supposed to be the next big thing. The #1 recruit in the country enrolled early and has been practicing with the team since spring. So yes, there is a ton of talent at this position. No one is proven, however. Corp is the safe pick, Barkley is the pick based on potential.

Replacing Legends

USC had one of the best defenses ever last year. They held nine opponents to 10 or less points and pitched three shutouts. USC’s linebacking core was one for the history books. Gone are Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga and Clay Matthews. One would be hard pressed to find a better trio of linebackers in NCAA history. I don’t know anything about the guys trying to replace them. I know Chris Galippo, a former baseball player, has the best chance to become a force.

The defensive line lacks big names as well, but knowing how USC recruits it is probably better than most units in the country. DE Everson Griffin was one of the better players in Arizona’s history (yes, Arizona can produce good high school players) and will probably be the star of the line. He had to sit behind some really good players early in his career, but now he is the guy on that line.

FS Josh Pinkard returns for what feels like his 8th year. He went to the Mike Williams (former ASU RB, not the USC WR) school of sticking around forever. Pinkard is nice, but his backfield mate is much better. SS Taylor Mays has a good chance to a) be Pac-10 DPOY, b) win the Jim Thrope award and c) be a top 10 pick in the 2010 NFL draft. Mays has great size (6-3, 230) and can apparently run super fast, jump really high, intercept any pass, hit harder than a sledgehammer, and cure cancer. Yeah, he is pretty good.

Skill Positions

That amazing USC running back class of a few years ago is still chugging along. CJ Gable, Stafon Johnson, Joe McKnight, Marc Tyler and Allen Bradford are all fighting for playing time. Any of these guys would probably start for every other team in the conference, but hey they all decided to go to the same school and split carries their entire career. McKnight was supposed to be the next Reggie Bush, but he has had injury problems and usually runs third string behind Johnson and Gable. McKnight will probably play more this year, lining up at split end a lot.

Who is the next great USC receiver? Try junior Damian Williams. He may not have the size of previous USC receivers like Mike Williams or Dwyane Jarrett, but he has explosive ability and will easily be the #1 target for whoever starts under center for USC.

Outlook

If there was ever a year to pick against USC, this is the year. They lost a whole lot of good players and although they will probably find good replacements for most we don’t know who they are right now. USC is a bit of an unknown quality going into this season. They play some brutal road games against Cal, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oregon.

I spent this entire post making a case against USC, so I think I’ll pick them to stumble this year.

The All Pac-10 Team

ESPN’s Pac-10 blogger Tim Miller put together his All-Pac 10 team. I figured I give my takes on his selections:

Quarterback

Miller: Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon
Mine: Jake Locker, Washington

Can’t argue with Miller’s pick here, Locker and Masoli are really the only two options for this slot right now. Masoli has Duck fans thinking he might be the next Dennis Dixon. I’m not there yet, but if Masoli has a big year with his arm Oregon my very well take the Pac-10. I choose Locker because I am a sucker for potential. Physically, Locker is the best QB in the conference. This is the man I once dubbed “West Coast Tebow”. He hasn’t been healthy and has been on some bad teams, but Locker can do it with his arms and legs. Yup, my All Pac-10 QB selection comes from an 0-11 team last year. Fun.

Running Back

Miller: Jahvid Best, Cal; Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State
Mine: Best, LaGarrette Blount, Oregon

Best is a no-brainer. He is probably the top back in the country this year. Rodgers is good, he ran for over 1,200 yards and had 11 TDs last year. I’ll give the second spot to Blount, who is a 240 pound behemoth that averaged over seven yards a carry last year. He ran for 1,002 yards and 17 TDs as the #2 back, imagine what he can do this year as the starter.

Receivers (including TE)

Miller: Damian Williams, USC; James Rodgers, Oregon State; TE Rob Gronkowski Arizona
Mine: Williams, Rodgers, Gronkowski

Gronkwoski is an easy pick, he is the best TE in the conference. He is going to be a first day pick in the NFL, probably even a first round pick. Damian Williams is probably the most talented receiver in the conference but he could be affected by who is throwing him the ball. Rodgers makes it too because he is a duel threat. He had 51 receptions last year but he also runs a lot of sweep run plays and racked up 408 yards rushing. I hate to pick the same three as Miller, but there isn’t much competition for these slots.

Offensive Line

Miller: C Kristofer O’Dowd, USC; G Jeff Byers, USC; G Colin Baxter, Arizona; T Charles Brown, USC; T Shawn Lauvao, ASU;
Mine: O’Dowd, Byers, Baxter, Brown, T Mitchell Schwartz, Cal

I’m not going to pretend to know much about offensive line play so I am going to take Miller’s word on this one. I replace Lauvao with Schwartz because Lauavo is changing positions so it is unclear if he is going to be able to preform at an All Pac-10 level. Schwartz is a big (6-7, 335) sophomore with a world of potential. I think I’ll jump on that bandwagon now.

Kicker and Punter

Miller: K Kai Forbath, UCLA; P Bryan Anger, Cal
Mine: K Thomas Weber, ASU, P Anger

I follow the Pac-10, but I have no clue what Pac-10 punter is good or not going into a season. As for the kicker, well I don’t see how Weber isn’t the pick here. This junior already has two stellar years and one Lou Groza Award on his mantle.

Defensive Line

Miller: DE Will Tukuafu, Oregon; DE Dexter Davis, ASU; DT Stephen Paea, Oregon State; DT Brian Price; UCLA
Mine: DE Davis, DE Everson Griffin, USC; DT Pea, DT Lawrence Guy, ASU

I feel like I need to do some explaining here. UCLA’s Brian Price deserves to be on the first team but I am too enamored with Lawrence Guy. I think Guy is going to be an explosive player and will become one of the best interior pass rushers in the country. Is this a homer pick? Probably. I like Will Tukuafu, but I’ve been hearing so much hype about Everson Griffin that I decided to give him the nod. Dexter Davis is ready to have a huge senior season, but one could easily sub Tukuafu or Cal DE Tyson Alualu in his place.

Linebackers

Miller: Keaton Kristick, Oregon State; Reggie Carter, UCLA; Mike Nixon, ASU
Me: Carter, Kristick, Michael Mohamed, Cal

Reggie Carter is the star of this group. There are some solid linebackers in this conference but no one that really stands out to me, although this conference lost a ton of linebacking talent from last year so there are a lot of unproven players. I think Mike Nixon is a solid player, but I don’t see him as an All Pac-10 performer. I just know there is some unheard of USC LB lurking around that is going to end the year with All Pac-10 honors, Chris Galippo perhaps?

Secondary

Miller: CB Walter Thurmond, Oregon; CB Syd’Quan Thompson, California; FS Taylor Mays, USC; SS Cam Nelson, Arizona
Me: Thurmond, Thompson, Mays, Nelson

I agree 100% with Miller’s picks here. Mays may be the best defensive player in the country and I think Reggie Carter is the only person who can challenge him for Pac-10 DPOY honors. Thompson is likely to be a first day NFL draft pick and Thurmond is a solid performer. Don’t know who Cam Nelson is? He is just another in a long line of good Arizona safeties.

Pre-season Offensive Player of the Year: Jahvid Best
Pre-season Defensive Player of the Year: Reggie Carter

Happy Madden Day!

Happy Madden Day! If you are one of those that got your copy at 12:01 am this morning, kudos to you! As far as video games go this is probably the biggest day of the year.

I have had a chance to play Madden 2010 and I have noticed a few things:

• This year’s version seems to be the most realistic version of Madden I can ever remember.
• It has the best presentation of any Madden ever.
• The player ratings are toned down a bit (for the mid level players).
• There is a lot more dink and dunk type passing, short plays than in older versions of Madden. The big play doesn’t happen as much. It is more realistic.
• The Cardinals are actually good!

Enjoy my Madden friends. If anyone wants to play me online and has Xbox 360, my gamertag is: the9293suns (don’t judge me)

Remembering Ryan Torain

Former ASU RB Ryan Torain was released by the Broncos on Wednesday. Torain has had one of the hardest luck careers I can remember for someone who has a lot of talent. It is unclear what is going to become ofTorain , hopefully he gets another chance in the NFL but the fact that he is an unproven commodity that is coming off a serious knee injury hurts his chances.

When Torain first came to Arizona State he was a JuCo transfer that no one really knew about. ASU’s running back situation was up in the air in 2006. Torain ended up winning the job and ran for 1,229 yards with a 5.5 ypc and scored seven touchdowns. I remember him bursting on the scene against California with 24 carries for 191 yards. How good wasTorain? ASU led the Pac-10 in rushing that year, even with pass happy Dirk Koetter coaching the team. He was the first ASU RB since 2001 to go over 1,000 yards. He was a hard, downhill runner who always fought for extra yards. His nickname was the “Train” for the way he ran over people. He wasn’t totally elusive, but he had good speed and movement for someone who had the power he did. While watching Torain in 2006 I thought I was seeing a first day NFL draft pick. Under Dennis Erickson in 2007 Torain got off to a good start, running for 553 yards in the first six games. His season was derailed by a serious knee injury, a similar one he experienced in Denver last year.

It is sad to see what has happened to Torain but we wish him all the best in his future career. He was one of our favorites here at Desert Ball.

Who Is This Guy?

You have no idea who I am

Trent Oeltjen is just the latest fringe prospect to come out and make an immediate impact for the D-Backs. Is this a product of an overlooked farm system or just a team having a bad year? Who cares, lets revel in the fact that Oeltjen is hitting .500! He 12-24 with 3 home runs in his brief major league career. I have no idea if he has staying power but he sure is fun to root for. He joins other surprise players that have filled roles for the D-Backs this year. This group includes Gerardo Parra, Ryan Roberts and Clay Zavada.

Plus it’s always good to have an Aussie on the team. I imagine him sitting around the locker room talking about “footie” while Alex Romero stares at him blankly.

Checking Out the ASU vs UA Alumni game

From the “why did it take so long to come up with this” file, on August 30^th there will be an ASU vs UA alumni basketball game. I think this is a fantastic idea, who doesn’t want to see past greats (greats is stretching it) of each university relive their rivalry glory again? This event is sure to stir passion because ASU-UA always does. Sure it is just an exhibition game but you can be damn sure I want ASU to win. It is probably a pretty safe bet that many other Sun Devils and Wildcats a like feel the same way. Who is going to win? Let’s check the rosters:

ASU	U of A
Eddie House – One of the most explosive scorers and best shooters in ASU history. Currently a role player for the Boston Celtics.	Sean Rooks – A veteran of 13 NBA seasons and was a member of Lute Olson’s first final four team at U of A.
Ryneldi Becenti – Center for the woman’s team in the early 90s, made All-Pac 10 first team twice. Currently in the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.	Kenny Lofton – An All-Star baseball player that also excelled in basketball at UofA. Lofton was a point guard and played with Rooks.
Dwayne Fontana – Attended from 1990-1994, a member of the San Francisco Prep Hall of Fame. High school nickname was DAW (Dunk at Will). Not to be confused with Brian Fantana.	Joseph Blair – A power forward in the early 90s. Missed out on the 1997 championship year by one season. Darn you graduation.
Rodger Farrington – Former defensive standout for ASU. Read more here.	Trung Canidate – One of the most electric tailbacks in U of A history. He is probably better known for being a draft bust.
Bobby Lazor – One of the coolest names for a basketball player ever. He was one of ASU’s best players when they were pretty bad.	Glenn Howell – A former football player. That’s all I got for ya.
Ike Diogu – We Like Ike! One of the best forwards in ASU history currently plays for the New Orleans Hornets.	Reshea Bristol – All Pac-10 first team in 2001 for the Lady Cats.
Ron Riley – Played for ASU in the mid 90s and scored a lot of points.	Corey Williams – This former forward has been playing a lot of overseas basketball since his graduation in 1996.
Awvee Storey – One of the toughest players in ASU history. Thrived in Rob Evans defensive schemes. No real offensive game. Will fight anyone.	Gilbert Areans – A NBA All-Star who is known for his blogging as well as his scoring ability. Also known for injuries and yelling “hibachi!”
Leonard Russell – Former ASU running back played six NLF seasons.
Bill Kennedy – Currently an Associate AD in Administration for ASU. Graduated in 72 . . yup 1972.
Eli Lopez – I can’t find any information about him, he must have been good.
Donnell Knight – A big time ASU recruit that never lived up to the billing. Is now his chance at redemption? Probably not.
Carlos Artis – Say it with me in a Homer Simpson voice, “I have no idea who that is”.

Who will win this game? As of now ASU has a lot more depth. Does depth ever come into to play in these type of games? Are we going to consider guys like Carlos Artis, Eli Lopez and Bill Kennedy depth? This game will come down to Eddie House and Ike Diogu against Gilbert Arenas, Sean Rooks and Kenny Lofton.

I am excited because I’ve always wanted to see House and Diogu play together, now they will get the chance in a effort to take down the hated Wildcats.

Shouldn’t Jason Braxton be in this game? It sounds like something he would do. It is probably a good thing he isn’t.

It’s Chip’s Team Now

This is Chip's team now

For the first time in years Oregon enters a season without Mike Bellotti as their head coach. Bellotti is an Oregon head coaching legend and a big loss for the university and the conference. His replacement, Chip Kelly, has some big shoes to feel. Kelly is fit for this job. It was Bellotti who brought him to Oregon. It was Bellotti who made him famous. It was Bellotti resigning that gave him the opportunity to be the head coach at a BCS school. It will remain to be seen of Bellotti made the right call leaving the program in his hands.

Chip Kelly gained notoriety at New Hampshire where his offenses were always among the most potent in the nation. Bellotti was intrigued by Kelly’s offensive schemes and had started to study it. He implemented the spread option attack back in 2006. When I first saw Oregon running this style back in 2006 I proclaimed that it was a “gimmick offense”, shows much I know. In 2007 Bellotti brought Kelly over full time to be his offensive coordinator. That 2007 season was a big year for Oregon. They spent the majority of the year ranked high in the polls before collapsing down the stretch when their QB Dennis Dixon tore his ACL. That offense took the Pac-10 and the nation by storm, mainly because Dixon was the perfect guy to run it. Oregon ended up winning more games last year, although they weren’t in national title contention all year like they were in 2007. They still led the Pac-10 in offense last year and they don’t look like they are close to slowing down.

The Playmakers

Kelly is banking on junior Jeremiah Masoli to be the next Dennis Dixon. Masoli is undersized (5-11) but he is mobile and a good enough passer to run that system. He is a tough kid too, he proved it by blowing up an Oklahoma State defender in the Holiday Bowl last year:

Oregon also returns senior RB LaGarrette Blount who is big (6-2, 245) and averaged 7.2 yards a carry last year. He wasn’t the primary Oregon back last year, that honor went to Jeremiah Johnson, but that will be Blount’s role this year. Senior Andrew Crenshaw looks to be the compliment to Blount, but Crenshaw hasn’t done a whole lot in his Oregon career. Oregon doesn’t have a great corp of receivers, but that is okay considering the way they run their offense. Junior Jamere Holland was a hyped recruit and is said to possess blazing speed, he could be the man to stretch the defenses. The offensive line lost some talent, including its starting center and left tackle. Considering those are the two most important positions on an offensive line they better hope they find the right replacements.

The Defense

Oregon’s defense has never really impressed me, but it has always been good enough to give them a chance to win games. Their best player is cornerback Walter Thurmond. The senior has shut down ability, he is going to have to have a great year to compensate for the losses of Patrick Chung and Jarius Byrd in the secondary. Oregon’s defensive line also lost talent, losing three starters from last year. The lone returning starter is Will Tukuafu. Most of the linebackers return to this squad and junior-college transfer Bryson Littlejohn is supposed to be an impact recruit. Plus he has a super cool last name. Other linebackers include Spencer Paysinger and Eddie Pleasant, two more guys with cool last names.

Outlook

I have Oregon finishing third in the conference. They are a talented team but I don’t see them winning the conference or competing for a national title this year. Maybe they can blame that on their schedule maker. Their first three games are at Boise State and home dates against Purdue and Utah. Utah and Boise State combined to go 25-1 last year. You could add up all of Penn State’s non conference opponents from the past five years and they probably wouldn’t total 25 wins.

I also hear the Ducks have new uniforms this year. I haven’t seen them yet and I don’t think I want to.

The Ryan Roberts Watch

Don’t ask us why, but we here at Desert Ball are rooting for Ryan Roberts. Roberts is currently the D-Backs 2B and has gotten the majority of the bats at that position since Felipe Lopez got traded. Roberts is currently hitting .286 with a .376 OBP and 5 HRs. Our secret hope is he becomes a right handed, tattooed version of Craig Counsell.

Of the week of August 1-8, Ryan Roberts stat line was:

.455 BA, .520 OBP, 3 HR, 4 RBI and one baby (his wife gave birth to a baby this week, congrats Ryan!)

Grade for the Week: A+

Chances of Roberts being the everyday 2B in 2010: 30%

A great week for Roberts, his incredible week of hitting upped his chances of being the everyday 2B in 2010 by 15%. It was no coincidence that when Ryan Roberts left the team for the birth of his son and Justin Upton got hurt the D-Backs stopped scoring runs.

Previewing Polls

The Pac-10 is looking good in the first USA Today Coaches poll. USC is ranked all the way at #4, Cal #12, Oregon #14 and Oregon State at #25.

I like where Oregon and Cal are ranked. Oregon will probably spend the entire year in the top 25, they have a good football team and are tough to beat at home. California has a real chance to move into the upper echelon of the rankings, but we never know about the mental state of that team. USC is ranked high on reputation alone I believe, but all these early season polls are based on reputation. I like seeing Oregon State in the top 25, it goes to show the coaches have confidence in Mike Riley.

I want to know how UCLA got 14 votes. This is a team with no offense and struggled all year last year. Perhaps their 14 votes are coaches paying homage to Rick Neuheisel. I am going to go out on a limb and say this is the most votes UCLA gets in a coaches poll all year (perhaps they will have a few more after they defeat San Diego State to open the year). Arizona received three votes, which means there are some coaches out there that have a different opinion of the team than the Pac-10 media does. This leaves Stanford, ASU, Washington and Washington State as the only Pac-10 schools not to receive a vote in the opening poll.

Don’t read too much into this, this is the same poll that Steve Spurrier always casted a vote for Duke at the start of every year. The problem with these early season polls are they have an affect on the entire season. For example, let’s say Virgina Tech is a 5-7 team this year (I harbor no ill will towards the Hokies, I am just using them as an example). Let’s say they barely beat Marshall and and lose to Nebraska and Miami to start the season 1-2. Since they are ranked seventh now it is quite likely they will still be ranked or be one of the teams that were just a few votes away from being ranked. Now, if they do start 1-2 on their way to a 5-7 season, there is no way they should ever be ranked. Yet they will be overvalued all year because of their starting position in the coaches poll. This is why I like how the BCS Poll doesn’t come out right away.

A simple way to fix this would be to not have the previous week matter to the current polls, or at least have it not be as important in the beginning. When Desert Ball introduces its own poll later this month (you know you are excited) we promise the following:

• We won’t cater to power schools. Just because there is a Longhorn on the side of a helmet doesn’t mean we are going to vote for that team if they don’t deserve it.
• Prove it or lose it. We aren’t going to reward the Penn States of the world for playing three awful non-conference opponents. If a school beats up on a bad team they aren’t likely to move up much.
• No instant gratification. We won’t post our polls on Sunday to please the masses. We will review the week and post them on Monday or Tuesday.
• The Top 11. Our poll will have 11 spots. There will be a true top 10, then the 11th spot will go to a school we feel like mentioning for a certain reason. This school will still be worthy of being ranked high, we just couldn’t find a way to get them into our top 10.
• Professional polls do matter. We will take into account the AP and USA Today poll. These people know a lot more than we do, we just want to fine tune their mistakes.
• Fun. Hey we aren’t professionals, we are just here to have fun.