Tuesday July 04, 2006

ACC Defensive Line Rankings

Happy Independence Day
I hope everyone is having a great Independence Day. My wife makes fun of how patriotic I am but I really enjoy this day. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Independence Day.

ACC Defensive Line Rankings

1. Miami
It is fun to watch these defensive linemen run unless you are a defensive coordinator. Kareem Brown is a first round talent. He amazes with his feet and tenacity. Baraka Atkins is another player that could be considered a first round talent. This duo reminds Cane fans of some of their great ones from the past. Eric Moncur and Calais Campbell are two talented young pass rushers that are the future.

2. Clemson
See Monday’s blog for in-depth coverage of the Clemson defensive line.

3. Florida State
Broderick Bunkley and Kamerion Wimbley are gone. Andre Fluellen is a talented defensive tackle and looks like the typical FSU defender. The Seminoles have some experienced defensive ends in Alex Boston, D.J. Norris and Darrell Burston but no one that looks like their typical edge rusher. The younger Noles like Justin Mincey and Everette Brown may turn out to be more talented.

4. Virginia Tech
Chris Ellis leads one of the deepest groups of defensive linemen in the ACC. The Hokies go about nine deep with this group and only one is a senior. William Wall received a lot of attention after a great spring.

5. Duke
Vince Oghobaase could play in any program in America. He is as talented as any defensive tackle in the ACC but had to red-shirt last season because of injury. Duke returns the rest of their defensive line including another talented red-shirt freshman Ayanga Okpokowuruk. Believe it or not this the best group of Blue Devil linemen I have ever seen.

6. Georgia Tech
This is a strength for the jackets this season. Darryl Mitchell missed last season with an injury but returns and is considered an NFL talent. Joe Anoai is a solid nose guard and run stopper. Adamm Oliver will join Darrell Robertson at defensive end to make up a pretty talented front.

7. NC State
The Pack lost Mario Williams, Manny Lawson and John McCargo from last year’s line. DeMario Pressley is as talented as McCargo and is perhaps the best defensive tackle in the league. Tank Tyler is also another good one in the interior. Replacing their two first round defensive ends will be more of a problem.

8. Wake Forest
The Deacs consider this group a strength for the first time in recent memory. Matt Robinson is their best edge rusher. The other starting defensive end Jeremy Thompson also returns. Grobe and his staff are still looking to replace both tackles but there is not as much talent here.

9. North Carolina
The Heels have talent in their starters but very little depth along the defensive front. Khalif Mitchell showed signs of dominance but needs to be more consistent. Brian Rackley and Kyndraus Guy are talented. Bunting is counting on several of the five defensive line signees to contribute.

10. Boston College
Matthias Kiwanuka and Al Washington are gone and will be missed. Clemson’s staff raved about B.J. Raji last season though. They thought he was one of the top defensive tackles they played against last season. Several defensive linemen missed time in the spring with injuries.

11. Virginia
The Cavs play a 3-4, which suits Chris Long fine. Long is a prototypical end in this scheme. There is some talent here but no real big names guys. Also, the system does not allow for huge numbers out of this group.

12. Maryland
The Terps are pretty young here. Jeremy Navarre looks like the most talented defensive lineman now that Melvin Alaeze will not be coming to Maryland. Conrad Bolston is solid but not a game-plan changer.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

There are only two athletes that I can think of that I hear the same phrase often concerning both. It is an odd phrase and one that I don’t think I understand. When Manny Ramirez does something so stupid why do we classify it as, “Its just Manny being Manny?” Terrell Owens gets the same, “T.O. being T.O.” phrase. Whenever I say something stupid on the radio, I cannot dismiss it as “Its just Mickey being Manny.” Whenever Rob Spence calls a bad play this year I think I am just going to write it off as, “Its just Spence being T.O.”

Clemens

I recently read in this week’s Sporting News magazine that Roger Clemens is expected to start 19 games this year for the Houston Astros. If Clemens averages six innings per start then he will make $35,000 per out. At that pace I believe I could pitch about an inning per year and make it work.

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