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http://limaohio.com/sports/158550/n...ell-too-far-too-fast-in-heisman-consideration
Naveau column: Elliott fell too far, too fast in Heisman consideration
First Posted: 4:18 pm - December 13th, 2015
Once in the 1970s, I was playing the world conquest board game “Risk” with two people I’d just met and another person who had worked with me for a couple of years.
One of the players who I’d just met started trying to convince me to make a move that on the surface looked like it would be to my advantage but really wasn’t.
His opinion meant nothing to me, a fact the player who knew me decided to point out to him after it became apparent his long-winded attempt to get me to do what he said I should do was going nowhere.
“If you try to tell him what to do, he’s just going to do the opposite,” my friend said.
Maybe that explains why I was one of only five Heisman Trophy voters nationwide who voted Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott No. 1 on their ballots.
They said I shouldn’t do it, so I did it.
OK, it doesn’t fully explain it. But I won’t deny it played a part in my vote.
The stampede off Elliott’s bandwagon by many Heisman voters seemed a bit overdone to me. And the sudden congregating of the national media on the bandwagons of some athletes who had only recently been ordained as leading Heisman candidates also seemed overdone.
It was the horse race mentality. Who’s up this week? Who’s down? One mis-step and a player who ran for more yards in his career than Eddie George on 118 fewer carries is suddenly not good enough to even be in the Heisman conversation.
Cont'd ...
Naveau column: Elliott fell too far, too fast in Heisman consideration
First Posted: 4:18 pm - December 13th, 2015
Once in the 1970s, I was playing the world conquest board game “Risk” with two people I’d just met and another person who had worked with me for a couple of years.
One of the players who I’d just met started trying to convince me to make a move that on the surface looked like it would be to my advantage but really wasn’t.
His opinion meant nothing to me, a fact the player who knew me decided to point out to him after it became apparent his long-winded attempt to get me to do what he said I should do was going nowhere.
“If you try to tell him what to do, he’s just going to do the opposite,” my friend said.
Maybe that explains why I was one of only five Heisman Trophy voters nationwide who voted Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott No. 1 on their ballots.
They said I shouldn’t do it, so I did it.
OK, it doesn’t fully explain it. But I won’t deny it played a part in my vote.
The stampede off Elliott’s bandwagon by many Heisman voters seemed a bit overdone to me. And the sudden congregating of the national media on the bandwagons of some athletes who had only recently been ordained as leading Heisman candidates also seemed overdone.
It was the horse race mentality. Who’s up this week? Who’s down? One mis-step and a player who ran for more yards in his career than Eddie George on 118 fewer carries is suddenly not good enough to even be in the Heisman conversation.
Cont'd ...
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Saying he was docked for his outburst is pure speculation, no?
Seems more likely he was hurt by his stats against the first ranked team he played. 33 yards with a 2.8ypc, a TD, and no catches. One of the best backs in CFB no doubt but he was hurt badly by that game
Seems more likely he was hurt by his stats against the first ranked team he played. 33 yards with a 2.8ypc, a TD, and no catches. One of the best backs in CFB no doubt but he was hurt badly by that game
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The MSU game hurt him because we didn't make the B1G Title game. If we make the B1G title game and he has another performance like the Michigan game, he would have been in NY for sure.
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And who would you put him over? I saw all 3 as very deserving of being in NYC, and that's no slight to EzE
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I'm just throwing a hypothetical out there. In my scenario Elliot just led OSU to the playoffs with a 200+ yard rushing performance. You are saying he doesn't end up in New York if he won the Big Ten title game with back to back 200 yard games on the way to a second consecutive playoff birth and 1800+ yard season with 20+ TDs?
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I don't think Elliott missed out on a trip to NYC because of his outburst. I think he missed out because the Buckeyes are not in the playoff. Let's not give Heisman voters too much credit here. Most of them can't look beyond whether or not a guy plays for a championship contender or has piled up counting stats. If anybody with a vote bothered to look at their per-carry stats they'd see that both were pretty ordinary ballcarriers. If your coach lets you be average enough times you can pile up some pretty impressive totals. At least there's a pretty good argument for McCaffrey based on his versatility Maybe he'll end up being a Kevin Faulk-type as a pro. Derrick Henry is a one-dimensional player. He's Ron Dayne for the new millennium.
I don't think Elliott especially got screwed though I don't think this was a good year for the Heisman. In time I think it's gonna end up being one of those down years we'll look back on and wonder how the hell any of these guys were considered the best the sport had to offer.
Also, if we're taking off the scarlet glasses for a moment you have to put Dalvin Cook's season above Elliott's. The two had nearly identical totals, but Cook got his on about 50 fewer carries. Not that it should have any bearing on the Heisman, but both seem poised to have better pro careers than either of the RBs who went to NYC.
I don't think Elliott especially got screwed though I don't think this was a good year for the Heisman. In time I think it's gonna end up being one of those down years we'll look back on and wonder how the hell any of these guys were considered the best the sport had to offer.
Also, if we're taking off the scarlet glasses for a moment you have to put Dalvin Cook's season above Elliott's. The two had nearly identical totals, but Cook got his on about 50 fewer carries. Not that it should have any bearing on the Heisman, but both seem poised to have better pro careers than either of the RBs who went to NYC.
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TampaBuckeyes
Assistant Coach
4 RBs finished above Zeke in the final polling. From a performance and personality standpoint , I'd take Zeke all day. From performance alone, I would probably take Zeke over Henry, but I would say Fournette and Cook have a slight edge. McCaffery, I don't know. He's a baller, but I think he is a compliment to the other RBs, not a replacement. I don't recall seeing him run a lot between the tackles, he seems more of an in-space kind of guy. Of NFL potential, I think Fournette, Cook and Zeke all have the most potential and will all go in the 1st 2 rounds when it's their turn. Someone will pick up Henry and they will probably regret it.
I read an interesting article that basically said Henry is no different than the last 6 Bama RBs to run wild in their offense. The only difference is in the last 6 years, Saban has had 2 backs, he starts his Junior and he gets 20-25 carries a game for most games, and then they run the 'future star' who is typically a Sophomore (sometimes freshman, sometimes senior after a miss recruiting) around 15-20 carries a game, and a freshman that gets 1-5 carries a game and a lot in blowouts. Not just at the end, but a good rotation. Every year since Saban was there he had 900+ yard rusher, a 600+ yard rusher and a 300+ yard rusher. This year Drake struggled a lot, then was injured in November, and Harris only go the ball at the end of blow outs. For the first time in Sabans time there, they only had one reliable between the tackles runner, so the numbers were inflated. This year Henry had near 2000 yards, Drake had over 300 and Harris didn't hit 200. If they had a good backup Henry would be sitting somewhere around 1400 yards.
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No way! Came up too big in their biggest games and was on a playoff team as their most dangerous weapon. Which is also the argument for Zeke. So fully disagree.
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what does being on a playoff team have to do with the individual's ability? I hate this argument.
Is he better than Jordan Howard? He's gotta be....Indiana sucks.
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The only difference between 2014 and 2015 for Henry was that he got twice as many opportunities to be ordinary. It's uncanny, really. You just take a very ordinary season, multiply everything by two, and INSTANT HEISMAN.
The real reasons he won are because voters can't be bothered to take even a cursory look at his stats, won't look past the fact that he plays for Alabama, and can't bring themselves to consider the possibility that the real best player in the country may not play for one of the top teams or may not play an offensive skill position.
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Really? The Heisman has gone to the best player on the best(if not one of the best) for many many years! The award is a joke anyway for that reason! Like I've said, I believe that McCaffrey was robbed regardless if Zeke was in NYC or not. Best player regardless of position. But the MSU game blew up Zekes Heisman campaign, and I'm sure he knew that as well. And not playing for a CCG or in the playoff means a lot to the voters. Just like for years a players team would need to make a BCS bowl if not the NC to be considered to win. It's not fair but its been what its been
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You say "Really?" as if you don't agree with me.....then you list a bunch of things that have nothing to do with anything. Did you think I didn't know that's how it works? If it really went to the best player in college football, Orlando Pace would have about 9. He was so good his memory was still better than people who came after him.
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