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Closer look: Brock Bowers, Herschel Walker not given fair due on ESPN Freshman All-Time list
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Closer look: Brock Bowers, Herschel Walker not given fair due on ESPN Freshman All-Time list
ATHENS — The two key offensive players on Georgia’s most recent national championship teams deserve better.
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Honestly, I gave up my ESPN+ subscription and just stopped paying attention to them broadly... read their stuff in front of the paywall from time-to-time, but not that often. I'm good with CBS Sports, SI, 247, DN, etc. for my sporting needs :)
Some things never change. That's OK, we Dawg fans know the truth.
Agreed!
However, Bowers being left off of ANY accolade list, pre- or post- season is criminal!
Go Dawgs!
"The answer is that perception can quickly overtake reality."--MG
Absolutely GD right!!! That's what I've been saying regarding the Stetson Bennett narrative.
Good article Mike and all true. Keep carrying the torch against ESPN's obvious bias. I think you're chipping away at their lazy narratives, little by little, with your comments through various venues, such as "The Paul Finebaum Show". Don't apologize for being right. Shove that torch right up their collective hind ends. LOL
While Buck Belue and Lindsey Scott were critical to the 1980 Championship offense, Walker was unbelievable and carried the team in most of their games. Buck said in an interview, "I didn't do anything. My main job was to get the ball to Herschel.".
At the time there was a joke about the complexity of UGA's offense. Question: What kind of offense does UGA run out of?? Answer: Herschel left, Herschel right...Herschel up the middle. LOL
It’s NE and Midwest bias. I can’t stand. It really got me, listening to 1940s UGA players talking about how they were shut out of playing in the Rose Bowl. It makes me happy that the Rose Bowl is going to be less important moving forward. To heck with them, the Midwest and the Northeast. It’s also why I can’t wait for the playoffs to expand and watch the SEC dominate the Big 10,12,14.
And Bill Connelly is an idiot, just like Lugenbill. ESPN writers’ opinion are terrible.
ESPN articles & USA Today articles stink !! They are loaded with bias and have Their carved in stone Darlings that they promote at every opportunity. So all our beloved Dawgs can do is just keep winning and Continue to make them look silly. It is what it is. Go Dawgs !!
Good post NavyDawg and CBP1947..short and pointed. LOL
I feel the same way about the Rose Bowl. Everytime UGA got the nod to play in Pasadena, they represented very well. That's why SEC teams, generally aren't invited, not to mention contractual obligations with the BIG10/PAC12, etal.
I tell you now, if it wasn't for mainstream media bias, UGA would have 2 or 3 more National Championships. I can't speak for other schools, but, that's just a fact. There are a few others that may be able to lay claim to that bias. That's why an equitable playoff system is so valuable. You can't complain, if your team is given the chance to win a Championship on the football field and not in the polls....Alabama!...OSU...USC...MICH...MIA...FSU...LSU...and all the rest of the media darlings. You know who you are. LOL
And...what??? Alabama just happened to have 4 Heisman Trophy winners during Saban's reign? Come on...he owns National Media and is leading them by their nose-rings. LOL. Somebody...Kirby...needs to level the freakin' playing field, once and for all. 2017, 2018, 2021 were a real good start. With TENN, FLA, KTY and SC, pushing ahead, the East is poised to take over the West in the next couple of years. It was bound to happen, sooner or later, but, the media, as usual, is slow to recognize and report....for whatever reason. LOL...ya think maybe they're biased?
Good grief. I have stated this NUMEROUS times usually on "why doesn't our QB who threw for 200 yards a game get more acclaim" articles. So again people.
Justyn Ross had 1000 yards as a true freshman for the 2018 national championship Clemson Tigers. Clearly he is top 50 also right? Oh, and what about the guy throwing him the ball: Trevor Lawrence? Surely 3280 passing yards and 30 TDs is the equal of 63 yards per game right?
So ... did the 2018 Clemson team have 2 of the top 50 freshmen all time? Yeah ... no. It just shows how ABSURD people are for wanting Georgia players to get more acclaim than similar players elsewhere just because they won a title for Georgia instead of Michigan or Washington.
By the way: Warrick Dunn had a combined 858 yards rushing and receiving for FSU in 1993. 12 game season though so if he plays 14 like Bowers did, it gets him to 1001. Was Warrick Dunn one of the top 50 freshmen of all time?
Nebraska 1995. Ahman Green. 1086 yards and 13 TDs rushing in an 11 game season. Top 50 all time?
Auburn 2010. Michael Dyer. 1093 rushing yards. Top 50 all time?
Alabam 2012. TJ Yeldon. 1108 rushing yards. Top 50 all time? Except oh wait ... Amari Cooper had 1000 receiving yards. So wow, apparently Alabama in 2012 and Clemson in 2018 both had 2 of the top 50 true freshmen all time, right?
Maurice Clarett (Ohio State 2002)? 1200 yards in 11 games.
This is the fun part. I am only listing freshmen who won national titles. Consider: Michael Crabtree. 134 catches for 1962 yards and 22 TDs. Riley Ridley's stats for 3 years? 69 catches for 1015 yards and 13 TDs!
Philip Rivers? 3050 yards and 25 TDs in 11 games! Playing the same number of games as Bowers gets him to 4100!
Ron Dayne? 2000 rushing yards! (Adrian Peterson had 1900)
Guys, that is 12 right off the bat. And it doesn't even consider defensive players. Or guys who were merely great instead of historical like Rivers, Peterson and Dayne.
So please. Give it a rest. As great as Bowers and SB IV are for UGA, for everyone else they are Tuesday.
LOL...I'm sorry...did you just start watching College Football. The internet does wonders to make you appear knowledgeable to the less informed. I've been watching and playing football for 55 yrs and I can tell you now, Bowers is one of the most impactful players I've seen take the field, in all those years. But, as a Freshman, he is not behind many players. We're talking Freshmen, now...not all players. If you think there has been a more impactful Freshman in the last 20 years....let's hear it. What is your list, not based on internet statistics or crap you can look up, but, on personal observation and opinion?
You, Sir, are a STAT genius, nothing more. You've got no more "feel" for the game, than Biden has for the economy. LOL
If you have an original thought based on your observations, I'd love to hear it. STATS are one of the most misleading road maps to greatness, but, the most quoted by people that never played the game.
That's understandable. Somehow, we have to quantify and qualify greatness. It's not easy to do without Statistics. Statistics are just one of the measuring sticks. Anybody that doesn't recognize the body of work Bowers put on the field last year, either didn't watch every game, doesn't understand the injury situation at WR, UGA was in, going into the season, or how much the Dawgs relied on that Freshman for production during the year. IMO, that defines his performance.
Bowers was clutch and he was a true Freshman TE on a team that only threw the ball 15-20 times per game...and he played with a shoulder injury in the 2nd half of the year. Yet he still stood out and was recognized by every analyst/announcer that called UGA's games, as the best TE in College Football. Why? Because he can catch, he can block and above all...it's what he does with the ball, after the catch. He runs like Larry Czonka.
If you don't think he deserves to be mentioned in the top 50, considering Freshmen didn't start until the late '70's, early '80's, you better come up with a lot better reason than the crap storm you put out. STATS don't mean a darned thing, if you can't tie them to results.
As an example of your ridiculous comparisons...Ron Dayne was a result of the system he played in. He was not that good and proved it when he moved on to the pros. 3.8yds/carry. Another "Heisman bust". And he's not the only guy over-hyped because of big STATS in the STAT friendly environment of the BIG10/12.
I judge football players' performance, on more than just STATS. If you played the game, you would know what to look for. If you didn't....well, maybe STATS are all that you have to rely on. I think that is the problem with the media. That's why you see so many "Heisman busts". LOL. Guys are being hyped and rewarded based on a "Team Statistic", as if a QB is solely responsible for the number of yds or TDs an offense generates.
With BAMA last year, Williams and Metchie were more responsible for Young's STATS, than Young was, yet Young got all the credit. You're gonna find out this year, what I'm talking about. Young is going to have a rough year and won't resemble the Heisman Winner of 2021...if he can stay healthy.
If you know what to look for, you don't need STATS to find greatness Or evaluate talent. I'm not always right...but, I'm right a helluva lot more often than most of these media guys.
So, to support your anti Bowers take you list the stats for Receivers, Running backs and Quarterbacks.
Tight ends do actually contribute on essentially every play. Your how many yards does he have narrow view gives no consideration for when Bowers (tight ends) block for the receivers, QB and running backs. Never mind the fact that RB's Receivers and especially QB's touch the ball much more often that a tight end.
Bowers carried the receiving load for the first quarter of the season, when the offense was essentially without any receiver who started the previous season, and he did that as a true freshman. How much is that worth especially when you consider the end result?
It's a "No. 1 Freshman of all time" list, not which freshman has the most yards. Bowers should be on the list!
Liberal ESPN went out of its way to avoid giving Walker, a conservative candidate for the US Senate, the acclaim Walker deserves. I remember Walker's freshman year-every NFL pregame show on Sunday featured film clips of Walker's spectacular runs the day before.
It is apparent - even reading the remarks left on the bottom of this article - that some people view “great” as having “great stats.” Is having the same stats at Marshal or say the ACC or (insert another league) the same as a school in the SEC? I choose to believe it should be about who means more to their team than just stats. Yes stats matter but shouldn’t be the be all end all. It should also be about who helped their team to an otherwise unexpected season - like win a national championship when no one expected you too or didn’t list anyone on your team on the pre-season all SEC team.
Does this Bill guy know anything about football or does he not know how to do any research? He’s an imbecile.
Lex33, I believe the first word of your post hit the proverbial “nail on the head” as to why ESPN shut Herschel Walker out. They didn't want to upset anyone and be “politically incorrect” so they took the easy way out. Go Dawgs!
The same knuckleheads rated last year's defense as 17th best all-time
To be more specific, Connelly is the same single knucklehead.
I'm slow to accuse the media of being biased against Georgia, because I know I'm not objective, but that guy's either an idiot or just biased against the Dawgs.
See how it goes? LOL. Connelly puts out 2 absurd and highly controversial lists of favorite...I mean great defenses & players. Fans and Media members, tear the lists apart....BUT, guess what. Now, everybody knows his name. LOL
That's today's so-called reporting for you. Very little investigation, intellectual integrity...or, common sense. Click-bait to generate publicity, controversy and advertising dollars.
I think we all know Bowers belongs on that list and he deserved The Mackey Award in 2021...just like Bennett deserved The Burlesworth Award for "Walk-On Player of the Year". A real analyst or group of analysts, will one day compile some "best of" lists, and I can assure you, there will be a lot of former UGA Players, Coaches and Units on those lists.
Soooo....I don't fret too much when these "Johnny Come Lately" millennials put their thoughts on paper. They don't know much, but, they think they do. LOL. It's kinda funny, actually to see a high ballin' ESPN reporter, display such ignorance. Knowing, that, in time his opinions will change with his knowledge growth.
Mike,
Great work in this article. Bowers definitely should have been in the Top 50 Freshmen of All Time. His season was spectacular in every way and it was obvious from watching him play every game. As one example, in our one poor performance, Bowers still made one of the great catch and runs against that great Bama defense in the 4th quarter of the SEC Championship game when he was "running over people" to score a touchdown.
You also make a good case for Herschel. It's always difficult to compare players that played on opposite sides of the ball but I don't see how Herschel's freshman season would not be number one.
I don't necessarily agree that there is a conscious bias by ESPN against UGA but with some of these articles and conclusions, it definitely makes you wonder.
On the plus side for the Dawgs, both Randall Godfrey and Todd Gurley (in addition to HW) made the top 50 Freshman Seasons list. That is something to acknowledge and appreciate. So, there's not total bias by ESPN.