Battle at Bristol Observation

For those that didn’t see my earlier announcement, I’m coming out of retirement. This is my first real blog post in several years and, to no one’s surprise, it relates to Tennessee football.

Last Saturday I was in attendance for the Battle at Bristol to see the Vols defeat the Hokies by 21 points. That was all good and well, and I was certainly happy to see a Big Orange win, but that’s not what this post is about. I made an observation in the second quarter, and it’s something that I haven’t seen or heard anybody else mention, whether it be in the media or otherwise.

It wasn’t until Tennessee scored their lone touchdown of the third quarter that I was curious enough about my observation to finally turn to to my dad and say, “that’s the first time either team has scored any points in the south end zone.” What I had seen in the second quarter was that the setup of the lights on each end of the stadium (speedway) were completely different. The height, spacing, and angle of the lights behind the south end zone were different from the way they were behind the north end zone, as well as the number of lights that were behind each end zone. The height of the stadium itself was also different, and one end was much more symmetrical than the other.

The two pictures below are both from the Battle at Bristol, and one end of the stadium can be seen in each, so you can observe the differences for yourself. 

Once I Was Out – But Now I’m Back In Action

I have a couple of quick announcements.

First off, for those of you that were regular readers of WaB back when it was in its prime, get excited, because I’m planning to start blogging again. For those that weren’t regular readers back then, get excited, because I’m planning to start blogging again. It will probably be another week or two before I start writing regularly again, but one way or another it will be in the near future.

I’m also going to be launching a new/separate site that will focus on analytics. The primary purpose of that site will be to keep my skill sharp on that front and to serve as a portfolio of my work, so anything that is heavily into analytics will be published there. I plan on writing some non-analytics stuff on this site again as well, the first of which will likely be posted in short order.

Once the new site is live, I’ll be sure to put a link on WaB as well to let everyone know it’s up and running.

 

 

A Letter to The Greatest

Dear Peyton,

I wanted to take the time to thank you for your unparalleled contributions to not only the Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, and the NFL as a whole, but also to our shared alma mater, the University of Tennessee, and the entire sport of football. The amazing positive impact you have had on the cities of New Orleans, Knoxville, Indianapolis, and Denver, as well as countless other communities, is absolutely astounding. There is an endless list of accomplishments, both on and off the field, that will be written about, talked about, and discussed for years to come. For now though, I will leave all of that to others, and will take this opportunity to instead thank you for the personal impact you have had on my life.

The incredible influence you have had on my life is immeasurable. You have quite literally helped shape my life into what it is today on every level possible: academically, professionally, and personally. My dad is a Tennessee alum, and my mom likes to say I was “brainwashed from Day 1” but I just like say my dad raised me the right way: to bleed Tennessee Orange. I grew up in Lawrence, Kansas and stuck out like a sore thumb as a lone (but very bright) spot of orange in the sea of crimson and blue called ‘Jayhawk Country’ but I will never forget sitting with my dad and watching you throw touchdowns to Joey Kent on Saturdays. That is when I became a football fan. That is why I became a football fan. I was barely six years old when you announced your decision to become a Tennessee Volunteer and there was no way for anybody to know then just how big of a spark that would provide for the direction my life has taken in the 22 years since that moment.

I remember it all. I remember when you decided to return to Tennessee for your senior year. I remember watching you lead a second half comeback against Auburn in the 1997 SEC Championship game. I remember getting a signed Tennessee jersey for Christmas the year before with an autograph that reads “To Weller, Peyton Manning #16” across the six. I remember sitting in my Mema’s kitchen and watching the 1998 NFL draft as you were selected first overall by the Indianapolis Colts. I remember your MVP seasons. I remember your record-breaking performances. I remember feeling the elation from every win and the anguish after every loss. But most importantly, I remember making the decision to move to Knoxville and thinking about how cool it would be to walk around on the same campus that Peyton Manning walked around on, sit in the same lecture halls that Peyton Manning sat in, and in the end, being able to say that I have the same alma mater as Peyton Manning.

Initially, I had decided to stay in Lawrence and attend the University of Kansas as a mathematics major, and though I was still in Lawrence, my heart was always in Knoxville. For that reason, I decided to take a few years off from school, move to Knoxville and wait to earn in-state tuition before officially transferring to the University of Tennessee. It was a hard decision to make, but having the knowledge that choosing to go to Tennessee was also a hard decision for you helped give me the courage to make that same choice, which has turned out to be the best decision I have ever made in my life.

At Tennessee I switched my major to sport management because I knew I wanted to work within the world of sport, and more specifically, I wanted to work in football. I have no doubt that this desire was born from watching you play for so many years, and even though I wasn’t athletically gifted enough to make an impact on the sport as a player in the same way that you have, I knew that I was smart enough and driven enough to still be able to contribute to the sport in my own way if I was willing to work hard enough for it. You inspired this belief through years of talking to the media about how even if you weren’t always the most talented or athletic person on the field that you knew you would work harder than anyone else out there. You mentioned it again today in your retirement press conference saying, “there were other players who were more talented, but there was no one who could out-prepare me and because of that I have no regrets.” I hope that at the end of my career, I will be able to look back and have a similar sentiment.

For now I will settle for having a similar sentiment toward UT, because I will forever cherish the time I spent in Knoxville. In May of 2014 I was finally able to officially say that I proudly share the same alma mater as Peyton Manning. Not only did I complete my life-long dream of graduating from the University of Tennessee and being able to work in the athletic department during my time there, but I also met my soon-to-be wife. And it should be noted that we literally picked the date of our wedding (June 18, 2016) based on the fact that it contains your jersey numbers from your time in the NFL and at Tennessee.

After completing my undergraduate degree I had to figure out how to best prepare myself for my new dream of pursuing a career in football analytics. To do this I needed to study under the tutelage of Dr. Kevin Mongeon, a professor who specializes in sport analytics at a university in Canada. This meant having to make another hard decision. However, this time it was choosing to leave Tennessee. Nearly two years later, I am now wrapping up my master’s degree (with a thesis that focuses on fourth downs in the NFL) and have been working part-time in the Buffalo Bills’ football analytics department for about a year.

After I graduate, I am hoping to find employment with a team and start my own career in the NFL. It has been 28 years, but the first year of my life (1988) was the same year you started playing organized football as a seventh grader. The first year that I will be able to work full-time in football (2016) is the same year you announced that you would no longer be playing. Over the course of that time, I couldn’t have asked for a better hero from a fan’s standpoint. More importantly, I couldn’t have asked for a better person to serve as my inspiration to pursue my academic dreams, my idol for what I would like to accomplish with my professional goals, or my role model for who I strive to be as a man.

In your press conference today you said, “I cherished my time in Knoxville, especially my senior year. And I want Vols fans everywhere to know the unique role that you’ve played in my life.” I wanted to write this letter to you to turn the tables on that quote, because I want you to know the unique role that you’ve played in my life, and that I will be forever grateful for it.

Thank you, Peyton. You truly are the greatest of all time.

Sincerely,

Weller Ross

Final 2013 Field of 68 Prediction

Once again in alphabetical order. After going through a mock selection committee process last night (results can be seen here) I didn’t want to put all that thought into seeding these. I just wanted to see how many of the 68 I could get right.

Here it is:

Field of 68 Prediction (Two Days Out)

This is prediction #3 for the field of 68. This time around I’ve included seedings. Schools with asterisks are play-in games and the ones in bold have already gotten an auto-bid into the tournament. I’ll put up one more prediction on Sunday before the teams are actually announced. 

Field of 68 Prediction (One Week Out)

We are actually less than a week out, but I figured I would go ahead and keep a similar title to my last post. There isn’t much to say that I didn’t say last time, only that there are some teams that have already earned a spot in the tournament by winning their own conference’s tourney. Those schools will be in bold to make things easy.

I am again going to simply list them in alphabetical order. I strongly considered listing them with their seeding this time, but that would have involved figuring out which schools would be in the four play-in games, which didn’t sound very appealing. Either way, I will again be providing my “last four in” at the bottom.

Check out the list of 68 after the jump.

Field of 68 Prediction (Two Weeks Out)

Well, it’s been about nine months since I’ve posted anything on this lovely blog, though I have engaged in some discussion via the comments section of one of my old posts since then. Either way, with Selection Sunday just under two weeks away, I thought I would go ahead and put up my initial prediction for the Field of 68.

I try to do at least one of these every year, even if it’s a last-minute one that I put up within an hour or so before the Selection Committee actually announces the teams. This year, however, I’m going to try to put up three or four in these two weeks leading up to Selection Sunday. The first one is obviously this one, the last one will be right before they’re actually announced, and then there will hopefully be one or two others somewhere in between, and I will of course be revisiting my predictions after the field is actually announced to see how I did.

For this first prediction, I’m going to list them in alphabetical order. Next week I might start actually seeding them, but at the very least I will provide seeding predictions with my last one.

Check out the list after the jump:

He’s A Winner

This is an absolute must-read by Greg Cosell so I’m trying to post this in as many places as I can. Here’s the link:

http://nflfilms.nfl.com/2012/05/30/cosell-talks-hes-a-winner/

Best Single Season Since The Merger (WR)

As some of you may recall, I started this project last summer, when I attempted to uncover the single greatest season for a running back. This time around I’m going to tackle the wide receivers (figuratively, of course, as I doubt I’m physically capable of actually tackling any of the individuals that will be mentioned in this post). I haven’t ran the numbers yet, but my money is on one of Jerry Rice’s seasons, because he’s Jerry Rice, and I don’t really need a reason other than that. Who knows though, maybe I’ll be surprised.

The first thing I did was set some minimum standards:

• I only looked at 1970 or later, because the NFL/AFL merger happened that year and it served as a nice cut-off.
• The receiver had to play in at least 10 games, with a couple of exceptions made for Dwight Clark and Wes Chandler in the 1982 season, because of the lockout that year.
• The receiver had to have a minimum of 2.75 receptions per game. This sounds like a really low number, but if I had put it higher, 1982 would have been representing the seasons from the longest ago. That’s 12 years of football that would have been excluded. I think this number actually just illustrates how much the game has evolved since the 1970’s, so I’m okay with it being that low.
• For those that are curious, I will include a list of the excluded receivers at the end of this post, that would have otherwise been considered.

2012 NFL Draft Live Blog (Day 2)

33.  St. Louis Rams – Brian Quick, WR, Appalachian State

Bryan just died a little inside.

34. Indianapolis Colts – Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford

This is who everyone said the Colts were hoping would fall to them in the second round. Many believe that Upshaw, who was also available, was a higher value, but Luck and Fleener already have chemistry, and this will certainly help his development.

35. Baltimore Ravens – Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama

Best pick of the draft so far? It just might be.

36. Denver Broncos – Derek Wolfe, DT, Cincinnati

If I’m Peyton Manning, I’m starting to really regret not going to San Francisco…

37. Cleveland Browns – Mitchell Schwartz, OT, California

I’m just baffled by this pick. Why take Schwartz over Mike Adams? There were also quite a few receivers available.

38. Jacksonville Jaguars – Andre Branch, DE, Clemson

This isn’t a bad pick by any means. The Jags have made a couple good picks already in this draft. Very unusual for them.

39. St. Louis Rams – Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

Jenkins is extremely talented, but fell this far because of his off-the-field issues. He should be able to help their defense immediately though.

40. Carolina Panthers – Amini Silatolu, OG, Midwestern State

What did Cordy Glenn do to get passed up by so many teams?

41. Buffalo Bills – Cordy Glenn, OT/OG, Georgia

This is a great pick by the Bills. Look out for them, they are silently building a good team.

42. Miami Dolphins – Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford

Phenomenal pick here by the Dolphins. Just like the Bills before them, they grab an offensive lineman who has first-round talent.

43. New York Jets – Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech

This is a solid pick by the Jets. Hill is a bit of a project receiver, but is very talented.

44. Kansas City Chiefs – Jeff Allen, OT, Illinois

This is a big reach.

45. Chicago Bears – Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina

A solid pick by the Bears. Alshon was a great weapon for South Carolina, and his productivity speaks for itself.

46. Philadelphia Eagles – Mychal Kendricks, ILB, California

…

And then Weller went to a concert