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October 24, 2006
Heisman Watch - Week 8
When the final ballots were totalled last season, Ohio State linebacker AJ Hawk, finished sixth. It isn't like it mattered. The award was never more than a three horse race, and almost the entire country had ceded the trophy to Reggie Bush after the second or third game of the season. Never mind that his quarterback Matt Leinart had a better season than him, or that Vince Young passed both of them by. The country was taken in by the little back from USC.
But AJ Hawk even making the Top 10 was important. He impressed 26 voters enough that they felt alright knocking one of the three front runners down at least one notch. For some reason though, defensive players, like Hawk, normally have trouble convincing the voters to place them anywhere on the ballot.
There has only been one primarily defensive player in history to take home the award. In 1997, Charles Woodson, a defensive back for the Michigan Wolverines finished first in the voting. Woodson was the leader of a Michigan defense that led almost every statistical category that season, surrendering only 98 points in 12 games that season. Woodson, and the rest of the defensive backfield, gave up only 4 passing touchdowns all season and Woodson had 7 interceptions to his credit. The Heisman winner also returned kicks for the Wolverines and played on offense some that season, but only after practically having to beg head coach Lloyd Carr for the chance
A defensive player winning the Heisman is comparable to a starting pitcher trying to win the MVP award in baseball. The voters give less credit to a player who only goes out to play once every five games. They would rather give the award to an everyday player. In baseball, though, you can make the argument for the number of games that a player participates in. In football, the defense is out on the field as much and sometimes more than the offense. So why is it that a defensive player can't be considered the best player in the country?
About the only reason you can give to why the award almost always goes to offensive players is that they have the opportunity to have their hands on the ball most often, and showcase their talents. Quarterbacks handle the ball almost every snap their team is on the field. Running backs are key to ball control and in some cases touch the ball more than the quarterback throws. Receivers are third in line, and almost have to be huge kick return threats to get a chance at the award. It appears in the face of that, a defensive player has almost no chance unless they lead the country in interceptions by such a wide margin that it almost seems like he is suiting up for the other team.
The truth is that game planning against a defensive player, much like a receiver, is much easier than against a running back or quarterback. The game plan itself can remove a great player from the game. Take, for instance, one of the most explosive defensive lineman in the Big Ten, Purdue's Anthony Spencer. Anyone who has watched him over the course of the season has seen Spencer put up some impressive numbers. He is among the national leaders in tackles for loss and in sacks with seven. Add in three forced fumbles, and a blocked kick, and you have a resume most lineman would be very happy to have. However, he was almost completely shut down on Saturday against Wisconsin. The reason? The Badgers spent most of the day tracking Spencer with offensive lineman Joe Thomas, a player almost certain to be a high draft pick in the NFL next season. Thomas was able to keep Spencer just a step away from quarterback John Stocco all afternoon, which helped buy enough time to take advantage of the young Purdue defensive backs. A small adjustment in the game plan was all it took to change the very nature of the game on the front line, and slow down one of the best lineman in the game.
Only two defensive players other than Woodson have finished in the top five in voting over the last 15 years, and none of those was close to challenging for the trophy. This season, despite top names on defense like Paul Posluszny at Penn State, Aaron Ross at Texas, Daymeion Hughes at Cal, and LaMarr Woodley at Michigan, it is unlikely we will see any defensive players even invited to New York for the presentation. If I had a guess at the best chance to even crack the top ten in voting, it would be Woodley. He, like Spencer, is among the national leaders in tackles for a loss and quarterback sacks and has been much harder to shut down. Plus, the Michigan defense has been very good this season, surrendering less than 300 rushing yards total over their first eight games, and they are among the leaders in total defense and turnovers. You would almost have to recognize the very good captain of that squad as one of the top players in the game.
After watching all the top performers for the week, here is how I would rank the contenders coming out of Week 8:
- Troy Smith (QB Ohio State): 15/23, 220 yds, 4TDs vs. Indiana - Remember last week when I said that Troy Smith could have a four interception game and still keep his lead? He must have misunderstood me, because he threw for four touchdowns on Saturday in the Ohio State romp over Indiana. With a performance like that, Smith is only distancing himself from the pack even more. There is still a lot of football to be played, but someone would have to have a final five weeks that is almost record breaking for this award not to be Smith's. Now all he has to do is not look past any opponents between now and November 18th. Then Smith might have two things he is playing for in the game against Michigan, the #1 ranking and this award.
- Steve Slaton (RB West Va.): 19 att., 128 yds, 1 TD vs. Connecticut - One thing is for certain. Trying to predict the Heisman race leads you to watch a lot of blowout games. Thursday night was no exception, and once West Virginia started toying with Connecticut, I spent a great deal of the remainder of the evening flipping over to the baseball playoffs. Slaton showed off his speed a great deal against the overmatched Huskies while turning in big average numbers again, even if his trips to the end zone were few. He is starting to lose more carries to quarterback Pat White, which could erode Slaton's hold on the #2 spot in this race. For now though, he is safe, especially with his team pulling off big victories in the process. The running back has next week off to rest up for a big match against Louisville.
- Brady Quinn (QB ND): 27/45, 304 yds, 2 TDs vs. UCLA - Brady Quinn has his receiver Jeff Samardzija to thank for moving into the #3 spot this week. If the big wide out hadn't stepped out of two tackles to score the winning touchdown against the Bruins, Quinn's numbers would have looked fairly pedestrian. That is probably because Brady was looking up from his back while being pummeled by the UCLA defense for most of the day. However, he got it together in time to make one last drive of 80 yards and take back a victory which seemed all but lost for the Fighting Irish. Give Quinn credit. He knows how to lead the big comeback. This was the second game this season where he has had to lead his team back on a final drive. Given this year's Heisman race, that is enough to keep him high on this list.
- Ian Johnson (RB Boise State): 27 att., 183 yds, 4 TDs vs. Idaho - Sure, it was against Idaho. Seems like I say that a lot when it comes to Ian Johnson. The running back doesn't seem to care who the opponent is lately though. Unlike some other players who have been considered here, Johnson just seems to turn it up against everyone he faces. This was the third time this season that he has run for four or more touchdowns in a game, and this time, Boise State needed every one of them to hold off the Vandals. Johnson and the Broncos might have their main sights on getting into a BCS bowl, but more games like this and Johnson will be getting himself a ticket to New York City to sit on the stage.
- Erik Ainge (QB Tennessee): 28/46, 302 yds, 3 INTs vs. Alabama - Ainge's numbers don't look that great do they? No touchdowns, three picks. Not a great afternoon. At least that was what I thought when I had only seen the numbers. The truth behind his performance could only be seen by watching the game. Two of Ainge's three interceptions could be dismissed. One was an attempt for a home run ball, and the other came near the end of the half. The only one that was really bad was great scheming by the defense. And Ainge made a touchdown saving tackle on that one, leaving Alabama to settle for a field goal. Credit this drop to the Alabama defense. They planned to disrupt Ainge all afternoon and should have won that game. But they didn't and a lot of the credit should go to Erik Ainge. He shook off the three interceptions at halftime and did a good job of putting Tennessee in position to win. He wasn't his best on Saturday, he was a little off. But he did what he needed to do to get his team the victory, and showed me a lot about him in the process.
- Michael Hart (RB Michigan): 31 att., 126 yds, 2 TDs vs. Iowa - I am tempted to say that there is no player more important to his team's success that Mike Hart. Hart continues to help Michigan control the game clock when they need to, get the key first down when they need it, and hold onto the ball, as in no turnovers. He continued to build the number of carries he has had without a fumble, although that came close to changing in this game. No matter, replay showed he held on until his knee touched down. As Michigan continues to build its resume to a National Championship game, Hart continues to prove that he is the best player on the sideline in Maize and Blue.
Others receiving consideration: Marshawn Lynch (RB Cal), Chad Henne (QB Michigan), JaMarcus Russell (QB LSU), Ray Rice (RB Rutgers), Garrett Wolfe (RB Northern Illinois), Calvin Johnson (WR Georgia Tech), Adrian Peterson (RB Oklahoma)
Heisman-like Performance
This week's player: Donovan Porterie - QB, New Mexico
Line: 19/33, 350 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT vs. Utah
This spot is quickly becoming a highlight film for some of the best performances by freshman at the smaller schools around the country. Just looking at Donovan Porterie's stats though might lead you think that I might be giving this award to the wrong player this time around. Don't count out the New Mexico quarterback just yet. Porterie was making only the second start of his career on Thursday night and definitely showed some freshman jitters. He completed only three of his first 11 passes and watched his team go down by 21 points. Maybe Brain Urlacher, linebacker for the Chicago Bears, and former Lobo himself, had something to share with Porterie about comebacks after the Bears managed a miracle on Monday night. The freshman completed 16 of his final 22 passes and threw for three touchdowns to ignite a comeback that was historic for New Mexico. While Porterie didn't throw for the final score of the night, his game winning drive helped the Lobos tie a school record for their biggest comeback in history. New Mexico had previously comeback from 21 points down for a win against UTEP back in 1974. For showing poise under a great deal of pressure and totally turning his game around, Donovan Porterie is this week's winner of the Heisman-like Performance.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at October 24, 2006 12:00 PM
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