Cubicle QB - September 14, 2009

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda…
John Fox shoulda known better. And he should be calling Jeff Garcia right now. I can’t believe he staked the Panthers’ playoff hopes on the right arm of Jake Delhomme. I haven’t heard one person (and especially not Carolina fans) that had any confidence Jake the Snake could bounce back from crapping the bed against Arizona in the playoffs. Look at it this way:

Imagine you’re college. You know a girl who’s pretty attractive and a whole of fun. But she caught her boyfriend making out with another girl at a bar last spring. She snapped. She caused a scene – cursing, throwing things, threatening bodily harm, and eventually getting thrown out.

Now, she’s back for the fall semester. She’s still got her summer tan, she’s lost some weight, and hasn’t mentioned her ex once. She looks good, and you had a great time at big party a few years ago. You wanna ask her out, but you don’t wanna be the first guy to take back to that bar again – especially if you run into her ex.

And you damn sure don’t wanna stake your semester of parties and casual make-outs on her alone. You’d better keep that party girl in your back pocket: you know the one that’s always up for fun, but has pretty much been to a formal with everyone else already (Jeff Garcia)… or even that six year senior who used to be the homecoming queen (Brett Favre)… or why not take a chance on a cute freshman that nobody else has discovered yet (a third round draft pick). Anything’s better than staking your senior year to someone who could be a headcase waiting to explode. You can spend your fall hoping she doesn’t crack, or you can find a back up plan… soon.

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda… Part II
If I’m CBS, Gus Johnson works every big game… no matter what. Jim Nance can stick to golf and his Augusta National poetry. Did you catch the end of the Denver-Cincinnati game? Gus Johnson may very well have had a near coronary on Brandon Stokely’s miracle touchdown. If you missed it check it out. Now that’s what football is supposed to sound like!!

Monday Obits
Another one bites the dust. It’s not rocket science, but Detroit is not close to being playoff ready. The Lions will get more wins than last year, but too many more. Their playoff hopes are dead.

The Deceased: Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions

Debo’s Xs & Os
Michigan’s spread option. It’s actually very simple, as evidenced by Tate Forcier’s quick mastery of it. Here, we’ll focus on their base set and most commonly used play. It goes by many names: the stretch option, the spread read, the read option, the zone option, etc, etc.

The basic formation is shotgun ace (single back, set to either side of the QB, with twin WR each side). In this play, the defensive end is left unblocked for the QB to read. The QB begins the play sticking the ball in the RB’s gut for a handoff. If the end runs up the field at all, the QB should hand the ball off. If the end collapses on the runningback, he pulls the ball to run it himself. The line will block at the point of attack exactly the same regardless of where the ball ends up. Essentially, each lineman has rules that determine who he should block based on how the defense lines up. Each lineman is responsible for a “zone” and blocks whoever lines up in that zone.

Rich Rod has added an extra wrinkle at West Virginia and Michigan. The read-side (the same side as the read defensive end) receivers are available for a quick screen on each play. The inside receiver will block the corner lined up over the outside receiver and the outside receiver will step toward the QB ready to catch a quick screen. In this case, if the QB keeps the ball, he can run it or throw a quick pass to his WR. Because the screen happens so quickly, linemen don’t have an opportunity to get down field before the ball is thrown (avoiding a penalty).

Ideally, the offense forces defenders to make decisions, and the QB always has an open option if he makes the correct read.

The Weekend Menu
This weekend’s game is rematch of last year’s thrilling upset in Lubbock. This time the Red Raiders will travel to Austin to meet the Longhorns. Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree may be gone, but Mike Leach has reloaded his offense, and it’s running on all cylinders. Texas Tech QB Taylor Potts went off seven touchdowns against Rice last week. Colt McCoy still has Heisman and BCS title game hopes. This should be a true Texas shoot out!

For this match up, we’re serving up Texas BBQ spare ribs:

4 lb spare ribs, cut
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup catsup
¼ soy sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ cup chili sauce
¼ cup dark rum
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and marinate ribs for 1 hour. Remove ribs from marinade and grill over medium coals for 30-40 minutes turning and basting occasionally.

These spare ribs go great with baked beans, mac n’ cheese, or your favorite BBQ side dish. And you can wash it down with Texas’ own Shiner Blonde. Blonde is made with the same original recipe that began the Shiner brewery. With a distinctive taste and a smooth, crisp finish, an ice cold Blonde is the right lager wash down this in-state battle.

Don’t forget to send your comments, emails, and gripes. And enjoy your football and enjoy it often!