Jay Bee
07-09-2008, 08:54 AM
and this article backs it up..
http://tinyurl.com/563o9j
had to snip it to make length requirements
What conferences are the NFL’s starters coming from?
Mike Detillier
Published: Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, July 7, 2008 at 6:28 a.m.
Last year at this time, LSU coach Les Miles set off a firestorm of college football debate when he told a group of local radio advertisers that the talent level in the Southeastern Conference was tougher than the Pacific-10 Conference. Miles also said that it was easier to get to the BCS Championship game from the Pac-10 than the SEC due to the easier conference schedule and not having to play a conference championship game.
While teams and conferences change from year to year, I thought that Miles’ comments were right on target. If you consider the players from those two conferences that entered the NFL the past six to eight years, Miles has a lot of ammunition to back up his statements.
The NFL regular season is about two months away and I figured that a good way to gauge the college talent level was to breakdown the projected starters from the 32 NFL teams and find out where they come from.
This list of projected starters will change by September due to injuries, possible retirements, and performances, good or bad, in practice and pre-season games, but this conference breakdown does give you a strong indication of where the starters for the 2008 season come from.
Quarterbacks
It is a little bit of a surprise, but the SEC leads the NFL in projected starters with seven. Eli and Peyton Manning are the headline performers, but a contingent of young arms like Jay Cutler (Denver Broncos), JaMarcus Russell (Oakland Raiders) and Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins) are on the verge of becoming impact quarterbacks in the NFL.
After the SEC, the Pac-10 has the second most projected starters with six, and the ACC has five projected starters.
Running backs
The SEC edges out the Atlantic Coast Conference on projected starting running backs with seven. Joseph Addai (Indianapolis Colts), Fred Taylor (Jacksonville Jaguars), Jamal Lewis (Cleveland Browns) and Ronnie Brown (Miami Dolphins) lead a group of top halfbacks that beat out a strong ACC group of projected starters that has six starters.
The Pac-10 Conference has five projected starters at running back.
Fullbacks
The Big Ten Conference leads the way with projected starters at fullback with five. The surprise is that starters from the small college schools finished tied with the Big Ten with five.
The ACC and the SEC tied for third place, with each having four projected starters.
Wide Receivers
This may come as a bit of a shock, but if you watched college football over the past few years it is no surprise that the Big Ten leads the way in the NFL with projected starters at wide receivers with 13.
Lee Evans (Buffalo Bills), Ted Ginn, Jr. (Miami Dolphins), Braylon Edwards (Cleveland Browns), Santonio Holmes (Pittsburgh Steelers), Joey Galloway (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Plaxico Burress (New York Giants), Derrick Mason (Baltimore Ravens) and Chris Chambers (San Diego Chargers) lead a strong group from the once run-oriented Big-10.
The ACC finished second with 11 projected starters and the SEC is third with seven projected starters. The surprise is that the pass-oriented Pac-10 has just six projected starters at wide receiver.
Tight Ends
Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys) and Ben Watson (New England Patriots) lead a SEC class that edges out the ACC with eight projected starters. The ACC finishes second with seven.
The Pac-10 and Big Ten finish tied for third with both have five projected starters at tight end.
Offensive Tackles
The power play of the Big Ten showed up big at the offensive tackle slot. The Big Ten with players like Orlando Pace (St. Louis Rams), Joe Thomas (Cleveland Browns), Matt Light (New England Patriots), Flozell Adams (Dallas Cowboys), David Diehl (New York Giants), Mark Tauscher (Green Bay Packers) and Jon Runyan (Philadelphia Eagles) lead the way with 14 projected starters.
The ACC finished in the second spot again with 12 projected starters. The SEC finished third with 10 projected starters.
Offensive Guards
Led by Alan Faneca (New York Jets), Shawn Andrews (Philadelphia Eagles) and Randy Thomas (Washington Redskins), the SEC is the leader at projected offensive guard starters with 15.
The Big Ten finished second with 10 projected offensive guard starters and the ACC and the Big 12 Conference finished tied for third with seven projected starters.
One thing to keep an eye on is that the Western Athletic Conference has five projected starters at offensive guard.
Offensive Centers
It is a three-way tie with the ACC, Big Ten and SEC, each with five projected starters at the center position.
Offensive Breakdown
If you breakdown the starters on the offensive side the SEC leads the field with 63 projected starters. The Big Ten finished second with 57 projected starters, and the ACC finishes a very close third with 56 projected offensive starters.
The Pac-10 ended up with 38 projected starters, the Big 12 has 28 projected offensive starters and the WAC has 16 projected NFL offensive starters.
<SNIP>
Defensive Ends
It’s the SEC in a landslide. Led by Richard Seymour (New England Patriots), Charles Grant (New Orleans Saints), Derrick Burgess (Oakland Raiders) and Leonard Little (St. Louis Rams), the SEC leads the way with 17 projected starters at defensive end.
The ACC and the Big Ten tied for second each with 10 projected starters.
Defensive Tackles
Most would guess the SEC is first, with 13 projected starters. However, the Big 12 with Pat Williams (Minnesota Vikings), Kevin Williams (Minnesota Vikings), Shaun Rogers (Cleveland Browns), Jamal Williams (San Diego Chargers), Casey Hampton (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Tommie Harris (Chicago Bears), also have 13 projected starters at defensive tackle, tying the SEC.
<SNIP>
Inside Linebackers
The SEC, led by DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans), Patrick Willis (San Francisco 49ers), Karlos Dansby (Arizona Cardinals) and Will Witherspoon (St. Louis Rams), edges out the ACC with 10 projected starters.
The ACC finished a close second with nine projected starters and the Pac-10 finished third with six projected starters at the inside linebacker slot.
Cornerbacks
The leader of the group at cornerback is former Georgia star and current Denver Broncos standout cornerback Champ Bailey, for the SEC. There are a host of young potential standouts that have come out of the SEC ranks over the past few drafts and the SEC edges out the ACC with 14 projected starters at cornerback.
The ACC finished second with 11 projected starters at cornerback, and the Big Ten finished third with 10 projected starters.
There are seven small college cornerbacks that project to be starters in the NFL for the 2008 NFL season.
Safeties
It’s the SEC and the Big 12 that share the top spot. Ken Hamlin (Dallas Cowboys), LaRon Landry (Washington Redskins), Reggie Nelson (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Gibril Wilson (Oakland Raiders) lead a group from the SEC with 12 projected starters.
Michael Huff (Oakland Raiders), Michael Griffin (Tennessee Titans), Roy Williams (Dallas Cowboys), Brodney Pool (Cleveland Browns) and Michael Lewis (San Francisco 49ers) lead the way from the Big 12 with 12 projected starters.
The ACC finished third with 10 projected starters and the Pac-10 finishes fourth with eight projected starters. There are eight projected NFL starters from the small college ranks that look to be starters in 2008.
Defensive Breakdown
The SEC leads the way on the defensive side of the ball with 74 projected starters. The ACC finished up second with 65 starters and the Big Ten finishes up third with 48 projected starters.
The Big 12 finished fourth with 44 projected defensive starters and the Pac-10 finishes fifth with 32 starters.
The Big East finished up with 20 starters, the Mountain West has 11 projected starters and Conference USA has 10 starters. The Sun Belt has eight projected starters, the Mid-American has six starters and the WAC has five projected starters on defense.
The Independents have four projected defensive starters and the small college teams have 25 projected starters.
Overall Breakdown
When you break it all down, the SEC leads the way with 137 projected starters for the 2008 NFL season. The ACC finished second with 121 projected starters.
The Big Ten finished third with 105 starters and the Big 12 was fourth with 72 projected starters.
The Pac-10 finished with 70 starters, the Big East has 33 starters and Conference USA and the Mountain West each have 22 starters.
The WAC has 21 projected starters and the Mid-American has 19 starters. The Independents have 13 projected starters and the Sun Belt has 12 starters.
There are 57 players from the small college ranks that are projected starters in the NFL for 2008.
Despite all the coaching changes and realignment in different conferences in the past, especially the ACC, the SEC stands atop of the college football mountain when it comes to sending players to the NFL and becoming starters in the league.
SEC Breakdown
In the SEC, it is the University of Tennessee with 20 projected starters that lead the pack. Georgia is second with 19 starters and Florida and LSU each have 16 projected starters.
Auburn has 13 projected starters for the 2008 NFL season, Alabama has 12 starters and Mississippi State has 11. South Carolina has nine starters, Arkansas has eight starters, Ole Miss has seven starters, Vanderbilt has five projected starters and Kentucky has one.
http://tinyurl.com/563o9j
had to snip it to make length requirements
What conferences are the NFL’s starters coming from?
Mike Detillier
Published: Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, July 7, 2008 at 6:28 a.m.
Last year at this time, LSU coach Les Miles set off a firestorm of college football debate when he told a group of local radio advertisers that the talent level in the Southeastern Conference was tougher than the Pacific-10 Conference. Miles also said that it was easier to get to the BCS Championship game from the Pac-10 than the SEC due to the easier conference schedule and not having to play a conference championship game.
While teams and conferences change from year to year, I thought that Miles’ comments were right on target. If you consider the players from those two conferences that entered the NFL the past six to eight years, Miles has a lot of ammunition to back up his statements.
The NFL regular season is about two months away and I figured that a good way to gauge the college talent level was to breakdown the projected starters from the 32 NFL teams and find out where they come from.
This list of projected starters will change by September due to injuries, possible retirements, and performances, good or bad, in practice and pre-season games, but this conference breakdown does give you a strong indication of where the starters for the 2008 season come from.
Quarterbacks
It is a little bit of a surprise, but the SEC leads the NFL in projected starters with seven. Eli and Peyton Manning are the headline performers, but a contingent of young arms like Jay Cutler (Denver Broncos), JaMarcus Russell (Oakland Raiders) and Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins) are on the verge of becoming impact quarterbacks in the NFL.
After the SEC, the Pac-10 has the second most projected starters with six, and the ACC has five projected starters.
Running backs
The SEC edges out the Atlantic Coast Conference on projected starting running backs with seven. Joseph Addai (Indianapolis Colts), Fred Taylor (Jacksonville Jaguars), Jamal Lewis (Cleveland Browns) and Ronnie Brown (Miami Dolphins) lead a group of top halfbacks that beat out a strong ACC group of projected starters that has six starters.
The Pac-10 Conference has five projected starters at running back.
Fullbacks
The Big Ten Conference leads the way with projected starters at fullback with five. The surprise is that starters from the small college schools finished tied with the Big Ten with five.
The ACC and the SEC tied for third place, with each having four projected starters.
Wide Receivers
This may come as a bit of a shock, but if you watched college football over the past few years it is no surprise that the Big Ten leads the way in the NFL with projected starters at wide receivers with 13.
Lee Evans (Buffalo Bills), Ted Ginn, Jr. (Miami Dolphins), Braylon Edwards (Cleveland Browns), Santonio Holmes (Pittsburgh Steelers), Joey Galloway (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Plaxico Burress (New York Giants), Derrick Mason (Baltimore Ravens) and Chris Chambers (San Diego Chargers) lead a strong group from the once run-oriented Big-10.
The ACC finished second with 11 projected starters and the SEC is third with seven projected starters. The surprise is that the pass-oriented Pac-10 has just six projected starters at wide receiver.
Tight Ends
Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys) and Ben Watson (New England Patriots) lead a SEC class that edges out the ACC with eight projected starters. The ACC finishes second with seven.
The Pac-10 and Big Ten finish tied for third with both have five projected starters at tight end.
Offensive Tackles
The power play of the Big Ten showed up big at the offensive tackle slot. The Big Ten with players like Orlando Pace (St. Louis Rams), Joe Thomas (Cleveland Browns), Matt Light (New England Patriots), Flozell Adams (Dallas Cowboys), David Diehl (New York Giants), Mark Tauscher (Green Bay Packers) and Jon Runyan (Philadelphia Eagles) lead the way with 14 projected starters.
The ACC finished in the second spot again with 12 projected starters. The SEC finished third with 10 projected starters.
Offensive Guards
Led by Alan Faneca (New York Jets), Shawn Andrews (Philadelphia Eagles) and Randy Thomas (Washington Redskins), the SEC is the leader at projected offensive guard starters with 15.
The Big Ten finished second with 10 projected offensive guard starters and the ACC and the Big 12 Conference finished tied for third with seven projected starters.
One thing to keep an eye on is that the Western Athletic Conference has five projected starters at offensive guard.
Offensive Centers
It is a three-way tie with the ACC, Big Ten and SEC, each with five projected starters at the center position.
Offensive Breakdown
If you breakdown the starters on the offensive side the SEC leads the field with 63 projected starters. The Big Ten finished second with 57 projected starters, and the ACC finishes a very close third with 56 projected offensive starters.
The Pac-10 ended up with 38 projected starters, the Big 12 has 28 projected offensive starters and the WAC has 16 projected NFL offensive starters.
<SNIP>
Defensive Ends
It’s the SEC in a landslide. Led by Richard Seymour (New England Patriots), Charles Grant (New Orleans Saints), Derrick Burgess (Oakland Raiders) and Leonard Little (St. Louis Rams), the SEC leads the way with 17 projected starters at defensive end.
The ACC and the Big Ten tied for second each with 10 projected starters.
Defensive Tackles
Most would guess the SEC is first, with 13 projected starters. However, the Big 12 with Pat Williams (Minnesota Vikings), Kevin Williams (Minnesota Vikings), Shaun Rogers (Cleveland Browns), Jamal Williams (San Diego Chargers), Casey Hampton (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Tommie Harris (Chicago Bears), also have 13 projected starters at defensive tackle, tying the SEC.
<SNIP>
Inside Linebackers
The SEC, led by DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans), Patrick Willis (San Francisco 49ers), Karlos Dansby (Arizona Cardinals) and Will Witherspoon (St. Louis Rams), edges out the ACC with 10 projected starters.
The ACC finished a close second with nine projected starters and the Pac-10 finished third with six projected starters at the inside linebacker slot.
Cornerbacks
The leader of the group at cornerback is former Georgia star and current Denver Broncos standout cornerback Champ Bailey, for the SEC. There are a host of young potential standouts that have come out of the SEC ranks over the past few drafts and the SEC edges out the ACC with 14 projected starters at cornerback.
The ACC finished second with 11 projected starters at cornerback, and the Big Ten finished third with 10 projected starters.
There are seven small college cornerbacks that project to be starters in the NFL for the 2008 NFL season.
Safeties
It’s the SEC and the Big 12 that share the top spot. Ken Hamlin (Dallas Cowboys), LaRon Landry (Washington Redskins), Reggie Nelson (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Gibril Wilson (Oakland Raiders) lead a group from the SEC with 12 projected starters.
Michael Huff (Oakland Raiders), Michael Griffin (Tennessee Titans), Roy Williams (Dallas Cowboys), Brodney Pool (Cleveland Browns) and Michael Lewis (San Francisco 49ers) lead the way from the Big 12 with 12 projected starters.
The ACC finished third with 10 projected starters and the Pac-10 finishes fourth with eight projected starters. There are eight projected NFL starters from the small college ranks that look to be starters in 2008.
Defensive Breakdown
The SEC leads the way on the defensive side of the ball with 74 projected starters. The ACC finished up second with 65 starters and the Big Ten finishes up third with 48 projected starters.
The Big 12 finished fourth with 44 projected defensive starters and the Pac-10 finishes fifth with 32 starters.
The Big East finished up with 20 starters, the Mountain West has 11 projected starters and Conference USA has 10 starters. The Sun Belt has eight projected starters, the Mid-American has six starters and the WAC has five projected starters on defense.
The Independents have four projected defensive starters and the small college teams have 25 projected starters.
Overall Breakdown
When you break it all down, the SEC leads the way with 137 projected starters for the 2008 NFL season. The ACC finished second with 121 projected starters.
The Big Ten finished third with 105 starters and the Big 12 was fourth with 72 projected starters.
The Pac-10 finished with 70 starters, the Big East has 33 starters and Conference USA and the Mountain West each have 22 starters.
The WAC has 21 projected starters and the Mid-American has 19 starters. The Independents have 13 projected starters and the Sun Belt has 12 starters.
There are 57 players from the small college ranks that are projected starters in the NFL for 2008.
Despite all the coaching changes and realignment in different conferences in the past, especially the ACC, the SEC stands atop of the college football mountain when it comes to sending players to the NFL and becoming starters in the league.
SEC Breakdown
In the SEC, it is the University of Tennessee with 20 projected starters that lead the pack. Georgia is second with 19 starters and Florida and LSU each have 16 projected starters.
Auburn has 13 projected starters for the 2008 NFL season, Alabama has 12 starters and Mississippi State has 11. South Carolina has nine starters, Arkansas has eight starters, Ole Miss has seven starters, Vanderbilt has five projected starters and Kentucky has one.