FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[bleedpurple]

Regarding Blanchard I think it's possible- and I believe more than likely, that the Bears have good intentions that haven't come clear yet. I believe Lovey Smith is a good guy and I give him the benefit of the doubt.
I don't know the rules and protocol of the CBA and pre-season, but I can envision possible "good intention" reasons for the early cut.
-Cutting Blanchard now, after he has performed pretty well (and perhaps before he has done anything to diminish his value)- possibly gives him a better chance of being picked up by a team in need/want of a QB.
-Or- If Blanchard stayed on the Bears and had a good/great showing in the final preseason game- the Bears would be in a tough spot w their roster. It's quite possible they only want to carry 2 qb's on 53 man roster- and it's possible they want Blanchard on practice squad. But they can't get him on PS if another nfl team picks him up (it's my understanding every PS player must clear waivers). The less the Bears show of Blanchard- the more likely he clears waivers for PS.

Imo this story has to have more to it.

The safest way to assure Matt was on their practice squad was to keep him through this round of cuts, not play him in the final pre-season game, cut him on the final cut, and immediately sign him to the practice squad.  In that scenario, they could have communicated with him (and him alone) that they believe he has a good future and they want to invest in him, but have no room for him on the active roster right now.  This communication could have been done early this week so Matt had plenty of time to process and would be fine (hopefully) to sign a practice squad contract at the end of the week.

It's still possible they could sign Matt to the practice squad, but not as likely.  My guess is there are other positional battles that are too close to call right now and they chose to cut Matt instead of a potential special teamer that could have an impact on the team this year.  So while they may still have an interest in Matt, that alone may indicate that their belief in him isn't at the level most us have in him.

[couchp54]

Who will you be watching..aside from your home team ...for the opener?
   UWL @ North Central
   UWP @ Buena Vista
   UWW @ Washington
   UWEC vs St Thomas
   UWSP @ St Francis
   UWRF vs Simpson
   UWO vs Central

UWL v NCC- I'm just as curious to see if NCC is championship caliber as I am to see if UWL is nearly back.
UW EC v ST T- Does St Thomas have the program depth to overcome loss of special senior class and how good is UW EC?
UWO v Central- Are the Titans a one hit wonder?

St Thomas does lose a lot, and yet they are still highly ranked.  I wonder why?
Or does the ranking really mean anything?  It looks to me like the last few years the WIAC pre-season rankings have pretty much resembled the way WIAC ended up the previous year.

[02 Warhawk]

Who will you be watching..aside from your home team ...for the opener?
   UWL @ North Central
   UWP @ Buena Vista
   UWW @ Washington
   UWEC vs St Thomas
   UWSP @ St Francis
   UWRF vs Simpson
   UWO vs Central

UWL v NCC- I'm just as curious to see if NCC is championship caliber as I am to see if UWL is nearly back.
UW EC v ST T- Does St Thomas have the program depth to overcome loss of special senior class and how good is UW EC?
UWO v Central- Are the Titans a one hit wonder?

St Thomas does lose a lot, and yet they are still highly ranked.  I wonder why?[/b
]Or does the ranking really mean anything?  It looks to me like the last few years the WIAC pre-season rankings have pretty much resembled the way WIAC ended up the previous year.

Still have their solid o-line coming back and a few transfers. Their QB this year is from Wisconsin, and I guess he put up some ridiculous numbers in high school.

Like many DIII football powerhouses they will just reload each season.

[Pat Coleman]

Who will you be watching..aside from your home team ...for the opener?
   UWL @ North Central
   UWP @ Buena Vista
   UWW @ Washington
   UWEC vs St Thomas
   UWSP @ St Francis
   UWRF vs Simpson
   UWO vs Central

UWL v NCC- I'm just as curious to see if NCC is championship caliber as I am to see if UWL is nearly back.
UW EC v ST T- Does St Thomas have the program depth to overcome loss of special senior class and how good is UW EC?
UWO v Central- Are the Titans a one hit wonder?

St Thomas does lose a lot, and yet they are still highly ranked.  I wonder why?
Or does the ranking really mean anything?  It looks to me like the last few years the WIAC pre-season rankings have pretty much resembled the way WIAC ended up the previous year.

They did drop to No. 8, which is kind of a fall for a semifinal team.

[emma17]

Just posted some information on the new coaches around the WIAC this year:

www.wiacfootball.blogspot.com

On a side note, I think I'm going to do something new this season. Before each week's games I'll post what I'm going to call the WIAC Survival Guide. Here I'll list every link available to watch, listen, and/or follow the game on Live Stats for every WIAC team. It'll be your one-stop shop to follow all WIAC games each weekend. So you'll no longer have to search for the link. I remember bobo doing something like that once last season, and I liked the idea.

WIAC Survival Guide: Week One will be available Wednesday or Thursday.

Thanks

02- This is a great idea and service.  Thanks- giant K for you

[bleedpurple]

St Thomas does lose a lot, and yet they are still highly ranked.  I wonder why?
Or does the ranking really mean anything?  It looks to me like the last few years the WIAC pre-season rankings have pretty much resembled the way WIAC ended up the previous year.

I think the ranking does mean something when it comes to the ranking by D3football.com.  Certainly, like every team each year, this year's team will have to earn it on the field. But the D3football guys work harder and know more about how teams compare nationally than anyone else, that's for sure.  As 02 alluded, the St. Thomas program has earned the right to expect a certain amount of reloading, even when they lose key pieces.

Personally, I would put St. Thomas in a tier with UMHB, Linfield, and North Central.  Barring something unforeseen, I don't think much separates those four schools.  I would put this tier (in whatever order) right behind D3football's Top 3.  I personally don't think Salisbury has reached the point of passing St. Thomas, but that's just me.

[retagent]

While processing the news about Blanchard, and reading the posts, my thinking was along the lines of emma. I'm wondering how "human" the process is. Maybe they talked with Blanchard, and because of his performance so far, they came to a conclusion that he might very well get picked up by another team, and he, along with the Bears "braintrust" decided that was a chance he wanted to take. There might also have been the discission of bringing him back to the practice squad if he wasn't. Obviously, I have no way of knowing what went on, but I agree that his showing put him well above McCown. The safe decision more often than not isn't the smart decision.

[BoBo]

I remember bobo doing something like that once last season, and I liked the idea.

02, there was a reason I only did it once...you'll soon learn what that is!!

Not that you need it, but you have my permission to carry the sword into battle.

BTW, Typhoon Bolevan is about to strike at us in it's full fury. The winds have been quite gusty all night, but the rain just started about 30 minutes ago. It's a pretty big storm so I might be missing in action for a couple days. I do believe we'll be OK in the end, however.

[BoBo]

Regarding Blanchard I think it's possible- and I believe more than likely, that the Bears have good intentions that haven't come clear yet. I believe Lovey Smith is a good guy and I give him the benefit of the doubt.

That would be a first...an NFL team using good intentions!!    It's a business and everything is done for business reasons. In terms of on-field personnel, they're not in the business of doing nice things, IMO.

If it were me, I wouldn't be holding my breath on the bears.

[emma17]

Regarding Blanchard I think it's possible- and I believe more than likely, that the Bears have good intentions that haven't come clear yet. I believe Lovey Smith is a good guy and I give him the benefit of the doubt.

That would be a first...an NFL team using good intentions!!    It's a business and everything is done for business reasons. In terms of on-field personnel, they're not in the business of doing nice things, IMO.

If it were me, I wouldn't be holding my breath on the bears.

Since your life is in danger from the typhoon, I'll be kinder than usual.   
Your comment above seems almost in line with some policiticans that want to vilify business/business owners as being incapable of human compassion.
I met up with an old friend this weekend that works with a national/international football organization- he told me they are strongly supported and financed by the NFL.  He develops and promotes community programs for youth and high school players and coaches.  They even provide financial support for equipment and fields.  I know, some may say it's only done to promote the NFL brand.  But I won't say that.  Many businesses and their owners actually do have compassion- and want good things for people and those they employ.

I don't blindly support the Bears in all they do, but I believe Lovey genuinely cares about his players and I believe if there is any way he can help Matt stick in the NFL- he will do it.         

[BoBo]

I know about the efforts the NFL takes to promote the game at all levels and that's great. But read what I said,

In terms of on-field personnel, they're not in the business of doing nice things, IMO.

Personnel...players...on the field stuff - it's a dog-eat-dog world. Keep things in context. Even players say when they get released/traded or whatever when it's unexpected that it's usually a business decision and that's the way the NFL works. I never once said anything about the teams contributions to the community. Stop twisting things emma!!

[Pat Coleman]

I remember bobo doing something like that once last season, and I liked the idea.

02, there was a reason I only did it once...you'll soon learn what that is!!

Not that you need it, but you have my permission to carry the sword into battle.

BTW, Typhoon Bolevan is about to strike at us in it's full fury. The winds have been quite gusty all night, but the rain just started about 30 minutes ago. It's a pretty big storm so I might be missing in action for a couple days. I do believe we'll be OK in the end, however.

If it's that painful, you guys could always just use the D3football.com scoreboard for that sort of thing.

[badgerwarhawk]

I remember bobo doing something like that once last season, and I liked the idea.

02, there was a reason I only did it once...you'll soon learn what that is!!

Not that you need it, but you have my permission to carry the sword into battle.

BTW, Typhoon Bolevan is about to strike at us in it's full fury. The winds have been quite gusty all night, but the rain just started about 30 minutes ago. It's a pretty big storm so I might be missing in action for a couple days. I do believe we'll be OK in the end, however.

If it's that painful, you guys could always just use the D3football.com scoreboard for that sort of thing.

I have to admit that it's my first resource. 

[BoBo]

I remember bobo doing something like that once last season, and I liked the idea.

02, there was a reason I only did it once...you'll soon learn what that is!!

Not that you need it, but you have my permission to carry the sword into battle.

BTW, Typhoon Bolevan is about to strike at us in it's full fury. The winds have been quite gusty all night, but the rain just started about 30 minutes ago. It's a pretty big storm so I might be missing in action for a couple days. I do believe we'll be OK in the end, however.

If it's that painful, you guys could always just use the D3football.com scoreboard for that sort of thing.

That was the main reason for doing it only once. Wasting my time to duplicate what was already being done!

[jaybird44]

For those who would like to follow the Whitewater-Washington U. game Friday, here's a one-stop shopping place for you:

http://bearsports.wustl.edu/Sports/Content/Pages/fb8-27-12.aspx

That webpage has links to the Wash-U game notes, live stats, and video broadcast all rolled into one webpage.

If you prefer separate links, here they are:

Video: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wustl.portal

Live Stats: http://bearsports-livestats.wustl.edu/Football/xlive.htm

I will provide the play-by-play for the video broadcast, and Matt Hayden will be the color analyst.  We hope you enjoy the broadcast...pre-game show begins at 8:15 p.m. Central.

Jay Murry
Internet Broadcaster, Washington University