OT - Barkley new Tebow??

Submitted by winterblue75 on
Was it me or did the media and Matt Barkley himself last night seem to be going down the savior himself Tebow road? The first things out of Barkley's mouth last night after the win was "praise God", his interview after the game seemed very scripted and weird. Then the media just totally made this guy look like he was the only reason USC won the game. He was horrible for 55 minutes, then USC drove the ball (with ALOT of help from McKnight), and we were forced to think that Barkley did it all himself. The media needs another Tebow, since he will be leaving us all, and I think they have anointed thy Barkley.
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Stephen Y

September 13th, 2009 at 8:31 AM ^

ESPN loves to promote a sappy story, and freshman QB leading his team to victory at a high profile school is as sappy as it gets. I didn't mind his post-game interview though, but this opinion is coming from a Christian.

Joined: 07/11/2008

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bronxblue

September 13th, 2009 at 8:45 AM ^

USC has a long and largely unbroken line of mediocre QBs who are deified because they can hand the ball off to AA RBs and throw to AA WRs while sitting behind top offensive lines backed by AA-stacked defenses. ESPN et al. love the easy story line, and instead of pointing out that Barkley has been profoundly mediocre the past two games - 30/50, 428-1-1 - they created this myth that the guy's ability to NOT screw up one drive == ability to leave a game-winning drive. As Brian says correlation != causation, but apparently ESPN and the rest of the media forgot to pay attention during Stats 101 class.

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mongoose0614

September 13th, 2009 at 10:04 AM ^

I think all those mediocre QB's are on NFL rosters..... Those AA wide receivers were not exactly true #1's for teams Those AA RB's are not exactly tearing it up in the show What you are probably referring to is that when you have top shelf talent that doesn't lack depth you will have 3-4rth round talent look like 1st round talent because they have 3-4rth round talent around them. Name me a first round draft pick right now out of this list. I am sure others more knowledgable than me can add. LenDale White Reggie Bush Matt Leinart Steve Smith Mike Williams Mark Sanchez JD Booty Carson Palmer Carson Palmer is an easy choice and Sanchez has looked legit. The others have not shown first round ability. I forgot to mention that those two are the mediocre QB's surrounded by those AA WR's and RB's But I agree with the rest of your post.

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bronxblue

September 13th, 2009 at 12:30 PM ^

I guess I should rephrase my statement. I think that the USC QBs are surrounded by such immense talent that they look better than they are because their mistakes or inconsistencies are masked by the quality of the team. And being an AA in college does not mean you'll be even a competent pro player - heck, Tebow may well be a 2-time Heisman winner and a 3-time AA and not even play a meaningful down of pro ball. I think USC benefits from a hype, a mystique that clouds rationale analysis of its players. Plus, college ball is such that you really can "out-talent" the other team, even if the team is lax in the fundamentals and the coaches are mediocre in their schemes. At least on offense, it seems as if players wind up at USC as 5* super recruits and leave as slightly older, slightly better to-notch recruits. That's why they lose 1-2 games a year; they can out-talent most teams, but when they have to play tough and out-scheme and out-execute the other school, they tend to suffer. I will give you that Palmer is a good-to-great QB when he is not hurt, but remember that he was throwing to some pretty good WRs in Cincy - Chad Johnson, Houshmanzada (sp?), and Henry, plus he had Rudy Johnson in the backfield. And for as good as Palmer may be, he led the team to exactly 1 winning record, and has been hurt for the past few years. Reggie Bush - still a great athlete, but I think the shine has worn off on him a bit. He's a good third-down back and kick returner, but not a feature runner. LenDale White is going to see limited playing time this year behind Johnson in Tenn., and will probably be out of the NFL in a couple of years if he doesn't get in better shape. Leinart is still backing up Kurt Warner, and hasn't really impressed when he has gotten some serious playing time. Sanchez might be good, but it is too early to tell. Booty was never expected to be a NFL starter, and I doubt that will change in the future. Steve Smith might be the 2nd or 3rd option on the Giants, but so could Manningham. We'll see. Mike Williams is currently gourging himself at the nearest IHOP. So maybe this goes more toward the mediocrity/overrated nature of USC's offense, but I don't think Barkley will be nearly as good as ESPN/media wants him to be. Give me Tate all the way.

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theBIGBANGG

September 13th, 2009 at 10:11 AM ^

Barkley, at the presser says "it was nice to hear THEM quiet," referring to the crowd. And then he tried not to laugh as he took a swig of gatorade. LOVELY. He's my fav already.

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