Wes21

Let me start this post by saying YES...the SEC is the strongest football conference. And the fact that its the strongest never changes, even when the teams inside the conference go up and down. That being said, I think its overrated. Your comment about Tennessee is a good example. Looking at their recent non-conference results is a good view of the state of Tennessee football: 2021 - They played an ACC team (Pitt) and lost. They played Purdue, and lost. They beat Bowling Green, Tennessee Tech and South Alabama. 2020 - This was an all SEC schedule due to COVID. 2019 - They played BYU and lost. They played Georgia State and lost. They beat Indiana by 1 point. INDIANA! They beat Chattanooga and Alabama-Birmingham. 2018 - They played West Virginia and lost. They beat East Tennessee State, UTEP and UNC-Charlotte. 2017 - They beat Georgia Tech by 1 point, then won against Indiana State, UMass and Southern Miss. That is not a menacing team. Will they have some UP years? Of course. But as they go up another team in the SEC will go down. I think part of the issue is people don't really follow the SEC teams the way they follow their own conference teams. So when you say "Florida State" to an ACC fan they don't think its a big deal. But for whatever reason when it comes to SEC teams, people think of their highest moments and assume they are there or about to be there again soon. FSU is not the championship team they have been at times, no more than Tennessee is the Peyton Manning Volunteers.

Texas A&M is a great example of why the idea of killing your program by joining the SEC is a myth. They were a middling team in the Big 12 before they entered the SEC. Their win total spiked to double digits their very first season in the SEC. The conference was supposed to eat them alive, but they thrived in it. Immediately.

I am glad you brought this up. I think the cyclical nature of some of the other random teams having great seasons gives the illusion that those schools are always that good.

For anyone who wants to see what a 7 INT game looks like:

Here is a story involving QBs and the Browns. In the early 2000s the Detroit Lions picked up Ty Detmer from the Browns in a preseason trade. The Lions regular starter, Charlie Batch, started the season opener against the Packers. The coach didn't like how Batch played so he benched him for the next game and started Ty Detmer against his former team...the Cleveland Browns. Ty went out and threw SEVEN (7) interceptions!!! Most QBs can't get that high because they would get benched, but the coach's ego wouldn't allow him to take Ty out of the game. He even started Ty again the next game!

When I took the time to watch Baker film I came away with the impression that he TRIES to throw it too hard. I put emphasis on TRY. He doesn't seem to have the smooth and easy arm strength that someone like Matt Stafford has, where Matt can effortlessly whip it out of a cannon. I think Baker can get that kind of ball velocity but it takes him more effort. So he loses a bit of control and accuracy for the sake of ball velocity. I would definitely try to coach that out of him.

That comparison makes no sense. Sam Darnold's best season as a pro is Baker's worst season as a pro. Sam would have to have a breakout year just to match one of Baker's other seasons.

I am a Michigan State Spartan. I actually went to the school I root for. You have been brainwashed when it comes to the SEC and how they fare against non-conference opponents. The results do not back up the narrative.

Alabama is really good. Georgia is really good. But who are all of the impossible to beat teams behind them in the SEC? LSU lost to Kansas State and UCLA Auburn lost to Penn State, Houston and got all they could handle from Georgia State Florida lost to UCF and had issues with Florida State and Samford Ole Miss lost to Baylor Mississippi State lost to Memphis, Texas Tech and needed a huge finish to barely squeak by Louisiana Tech Tennessee lost to Pitt and Purdue Kentucky barely edged out Chattanooga Missouri lost to Boston College and Army Texas A&M struggled with Colorado There are only so many non-conference games and aside from the cupcakes I just read off a bunch of them. They didn't cut thru non-conference opponents like hot butter, because they can't. At some point someone made a comment about how much better the SEC is as a whole and people have been running with the myth ever since.

They know they are down right now, no doubt. I was only talking about their commitment to football. They have just made a series of dumb decisions, but its not from a lack of trying or investing in the program. I was contrasting it with schools who don't commit to football and go "all in."

This is fun for people to say but the reality is different. As an overall conference the SEC is not what its hyped up to be. Its the best football conference, but its not a murderers row that would give the best teams from other conferences a .500 record. Texas A&M put that baby to bed pretty quickly. They are a better SEC team than they were a Big 12 team.

Miami sold its soul a long time ago. Some of those Hurricane players were taking paycuts to play in the NFL. They have a huge football culture as well with dozens of the greats from the past just "stopping in" to hang around the current players in the weight room and practices. Some of the younger guys have talked about how cool it was to be in a basic offseason weight session and then next thing you know they are doing squats with Clinton Portis, learning the finer points of route running from Santana Moss and watching film with Ed Reed. Here's a quick tweet talking about this years spring practice with Ed Reed, Edgerrin James and Jason Taylor. Taylor and Reed are a part of the staff now. Warren Sapp stopped by and ran parts of practice a few weeks after this, with guys like Vince Wilfork attending as well.

The Big Ten was insistent on keeping the "Big Ten" name even when they had more than 10 teams. It was a branding thing, which led to the B1G logo amongst some other quirky changes. Maybe I'm biased from living in the south, but to me the ACC is an iconic moniker as well. And if they do invite those teams I would hope they can do something corny like B1G did and say it stands for "All Coast Conference" or something like that.

I certainly hope they know what they got themselves into.

I am one of the people who adds to the ratings for Notre Dame games. I am a card carrying Notre Dame hater, and I tune in to watch them lose (or see if they will lose). Its a strong motivator to watch a particular game and its one of the reasons why Cowboys games have such high ratings. "America's Team" in modern terms means the team most of America LOVES to watch lose the most. I love to see my team win. I love to see teams lose that helps MY team get into a better position for something good. But if you take away MY team or results that impact MY team...I enjoy watching the Cowboys and Notre Dame lose the most.

Some people credit U of Michigan for being amongst the first to market a school as a sports team instead of an academic institution. I would go as far as to say that a majority of fans of major colleges have zero connection to the university outside of rooting for them and attending sporting events. The "Wal-Mart Wolverines" as we like to call them have a fanbase that only hinges on winning and losing. They never went to the school nor do they have kids or family that went to the school. I find that most UNC/Duke fans are the same way. On the other hand when you get to schools that are not on that level its a different story. I went to Michigan State and when someone tells me they are a Spartan fan I know the chances that they are from the Lansing area or have some other connection to the school is a heck of alot higher than when someone says they are a UM fan. That being said I recall a story that was told to me by an older work colleague. He went to Texas A&M before they were in the Big 12. He said back then college kids could travel to their schools away games. He said most road trips were easy as it was around the Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma area and the farthest trip him and his buddies made was down to LSU. He said he felt sorry for the kids today missing out on that experience because a regular college kid can't just jump in their car at Texas A&M and attend a game at South Carolina (his example). On the flipside of that the ONLY away game I ever even considered going to while I was at Michigan State was to Ann Arbor to play U of M (45 minutes away). Every school was technically in driving range back then (even Penn State) but it never even crossed my mind to do that.

I can see a few teams moving out/in the ACC but I can't see the conference going away. And UNC/Duke leaving the ACC would be the end of the conference.

I like to put fentanyl in my butthole and watch it light up

Teams trade draft picks all the time to move up in the 1st round. We traded a 2nd round pick to get Sam Darnold to move us up in the 1st round. Genius!

An experienced lifter like Derrick Brown is only going to be able to "lose 20 lbs of fat" while "building 15 pounds of muscle" if he's on steroids.

I remember WR Roy Williams spent most of his career listed at 212. That only just because he showed up at the combine at 212 so he could move better. Years later Roy said that he plays around 230-235 and hadn't actually played a game at 212 since he was a junior in high school. Mike Martz challenged him to try to get down to that weight again, and he got down to around 215 and had his best season as a pro. I think he was listed around 215 for the rest of his career, even though he was playing heavier than that after that season.

Chandler Jones doesn't play at 255. I'm sorry that there is an entire "thing" that websites do with weight that you were not aware of.

Chandler Jones is definitely not 255

Nick Bosa and Khalil Mack are power ends that play at 270+ lbs. They are definitely not lighter than Brian Burns. Myles Garrett and Joey Bosa are also guys that play 270 or heavier. There are alot guys like Von Miller who have had great careers around Brian Burns weight or lower. Robert Mathis, Dwight Freeney and Elvis Dumervill were also in that range.

Notice he said YOU don't wanna be around yes men. He wasn't talking about himself.